Due to the strict COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa, miners in Congo and Zambia divert copper shipments to Dar es Salaam
As reported in the Reuters, exports of copper cathodes and copper concentrate through Dar have increased by between 20 per cent and 25 per cent.
South African authorities initially said that the ports would only process essential goods during the lockdown. Later, the Department of Transport clarified that the ports remain open to all cargo operations. However, the copperbelt miners did not wait for that clarification before acting, reported the source. Mozambique’s Beira port and Namibia’s Walvis Bay are also seeing more copper and cobalt export volumes, the source further added.
The source further reported that while Dar, Beira and Walvis Bay ports are benefitting from the South African lockdown, it is hurting Mozambique’s Maputo port that depends on South African mine production.
