Zambia’s copper gets rail access to coast

Logistics company Grindrod has committed to build a new 590-kilometre rail line, worth close to US$990 million, which will connect landlocked Zambia’s copper mines to the Atlantic coast, reports the business press. Reuters notes that the line will link the country’s largest copper mine by output, Kansanshi Copper Mines, as well as Lumwana Copper Mines, to the railway network of neighbouring Angola. Currently, most of Zambia’s copper is moved by truck to ports at Dar es Salaam and Durban in South Africa. According to a Business Report article, construction of the first phase connecting Chingola to the Kansanshi, Lumwana and Kalumbila mines is set to begin this year and will cost US$489 million. The 290-km line will carry existing ore and finished copper traffic. “Phase II is intended to open up a direct corridor to Lobito, which would allow landlocked Zambia to import oil directly from Angola and to stimulate further mining activity in the western copper belt region,” a Grindrod statement said.