Angola train derailment impacts Lobito copper shipments

Mota-Engil, SGPS

16/08/2024 11:48

Aug 16 (Reuters) - A train derailment on Angola's Lobito
Corridor has impacted the haulage of commodities including
copper concentrates, the company operating the railway line said
on Friday.
    The corridor provides a trade route between the
resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola's Lobito
port on the Atlantic ocean, which is strategic to the United
States and European Union as they seek greater access to
minerals needed for the transition to cleaner energy
technologies.
    The incident took place between the Cavimbe and Cangumbe
stations on Thursday and involved a train hauling sulphur,
Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR) said in a statement.
    No casualties were reported and repairs on the damaged 400
metres of track would be done over four days, the company added.
    "LAR will prioritize the passenger trains and the fuel
trains, resuming international sulfur and copper trains
thereafter," the company said.
    LAR, a joint venture backed by global commodities trader
Trafigura, Portuguese construction group Mota-Engil and railway
operator Vecturis, was in 2022 granted a 30-year concession to
operate the 1,300 kilometre rail network.

 (Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by David Holmes)
 ((Nelson.Banya@thomsonreuters.com;))