Africa's largest copper mining complex launches Europe-bound trade route with first Lobito Corridor shipment

Africa's largest copper mining complex has completed a major milestone in its push to establish a new export pathway to global markets, with copper shipped through the Lobito Corridor successfully arriving in Europe for refining.

• Copper from the Kamoa-Kakula Complex in the DRC has successfully reached Belgium via the Lobito Corridor for refining.
• This milestone demonstrates the Lobito Corridor's viability as a new, efficient export route for Central African minerals to global markets.
• Ivanhoe Mines' shipment used a supply chain largely powered by renewable energy, resulting in low carbon-intensive refined copper.
• The Lobito Corridor is strategically important, offering a faster alternative for mineral exports and attracting investments from international stakeholders.

Ivanhoe Mines announced that copper anodes from the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) recently reached the Aurubis refinery in Belgium, where they were refined into more than 99.99% pure London Metal Exchange (LME) Grade A copper cathodes.

The update builds on an earlier milestone when Kamoa-Kakula became one of the first major mining operations to export copper through the Lobito Corridor, a rail network connecting the DRC Copperbelt to Angola's Atlantic coast.

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At the time, the shipment was viewed as a key test of the corridor's ability to provide an alternative route for Central African minerals to reach global markets.

From corridor test to European delivery

The latest development confirms that the shipment has successfully completed its journey from the DRC to Europe, demonstrating the viability of a new mine-to-market export route for one of the world's most important copper-producing regions.

According to Ivanhoe Mines, the copper was processed, smelted and refined using largely renewable energy sources, creating what the company describes as one of the world's lowest carbon-intensive refined copper supply chains.

The achievement comes as global demand for copper continues to surge, driven by electric vehicles, renewable energy projects, battery storage systems and grid expansion.

Why the Lobito Corridor matters

The Lobito Corridor has emerged as one of Africa's most strategically important infrastructure projects.

Linking mining regions in the DRC and Zambia to Angola's Port of Lobito, the route offers a faster alternative to traditional export corridors that often rely on longer road and rail networks through southern Africa.

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Backed by investments from the United States, the European Union, Angola, Zambia and the DRC, the corridor is increasingly viewed as a critical channel for transporting minerals essential to the global energy transition, including copper and cobalt.

For the DRC, the successful delivery highlights the country's growing role in global supply chains beyond raw mineral extraction. It also demonstrates how improved transport infrastructure can help unlock greater value from Africa's vast mineral resources.

Ivanhoe's expanding influence in African mining

The milestone further reinforces Ivanhoe Mines' position as one of the continent's most influential mining companies. Through Kamoa-Kakula, the company operates one of the world's highest-grade and fastest-growing copper complexes.

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Beyond copper, Ivanhoe controls the Kipushi zinc mine in the DRC and the Platreef platinum-group metals project in South Africa, giving it exposure to several of the critical minerals expected to underpin the global energy transition.

As investment in the Lobito Corridor accelerates, the successful completion of Kamoa-Kakula's first Europe-bound shipment could serve as a blueprint for future exports from Central Africa, strengthening regional trade links, attracting new mining investment and reshaping how African minerals reach international markets.