Chapter 07
Logistics & the Export Corridors
Both countries are landlocked, so the route to a port is part of the deal — it drives cost, transit time and, increasingly, geopolitics. Four corridors matter, and one of them is rewriting the map.
The Lobito Corridor — the game-changer
The Lobito Atlantic Railway links the Copperbelt to the deep-water port of Lobito on Angola’s Atlantic coast, cutting transit from several weeks to roughly one week. It is backed by the US and the G7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, with more than US$4bn of US-linked investment mobilised and a US$553m loan from the US Development Finance Corporation among the financing. Ivanhoe already ships Kamoa-Kakula copper along it, with up to 240,000 t/yr of capacity reserved.
For a US buyer this is strategically significant: a 2025 US–DRC framework contemplates that DRC state enterprises give US persons a right of first offer on certain critical minerals, exported where appropriate via the Lobito–Sakania corridor. The other three routes remain vital: Dar es Salaam (east, road and TAZARA rail), Durban (south, long but well-established) and Walvis Bay (west, via Namibia).
Whether you buy FOB, CIF or CIP decides who bears the corridor risk. Seasoned regional traders often argue mines effectively sell delivered (CIF/CIP), because responsibility for getting metal safely to port sits best with the party that controls it. Match your Incoterm to who can actually manage the corridor.