Lobito Corridor Expansion: Colonization of Africa in a New Mantle | Politics

In late August, the US government announced its willingness to expand the Lobito Corridor railway project from Angola to Zambia via the Democratic Republic of the Congo, so that the corridor would reach the Indian Ocean via Tanzania.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of many developments related to the pursuit of strategic and vital minerals in Africa by American industries, such as: cobalt, lithium, copper, aluminum, and manganese, which are essential for industries that depend on intensive technology.

Recent US moves in both Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have also raised multiple ethical questions, along with Western polarization of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and mounting criticism of Rwandan President Paul Kagame amid Kigali’s growing regional influence.

Western scramble for African resources

The importance of the Lobito Corridor lies in the American, European and Chinese rush to produce a series of electric car batteries and other energy projects. In the context of the American announcement, the corridor is linked to the capabilities of the countries of vital minerals and chemicals participating in it, and the locations of the coastal or port countries. These points are detailed below:

Recent Competitions:

The Lobito Corridor is a planned 1,300-kilometre railway line, running from the port of Lobito, in Benguela Province on Angola's Atlantic coast, to the town of Luao on Angola's northeastern border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and close to northwestern Zambia. The railway within the corridor also extends another 400 kilometres to the mining town of Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Lobito Corridor has attracted regional and international attention over the years, leading to several developments, including the announcement by Victoris, the Belgian railway operator, in January 2024 that the Lobito Atlantic Railway had acquired the operations of the Benguela Railway, the current main railway line in the Lobito Corridor.

The Lobito Atlantic Railway, which operates the Lobito Pass, signed a 30-year concession to operate the railway along the Lobito Pass in 2022. The company is privately owned and includes a consortium of companies, such as Singapore-based Trafigura, which operates in the base metals and energy sectors, and European partners, such as Portuguese companies Mota-Engel and Victoris.

Another new development on the Lobito Corridor is the US-announced expansion project, which is expected to be completed by 2029. It will reportedly focus on extending the corridor into Tanzania to access the Indian Ocean on the one hand, and rebuilding the Benguela railway line, which was used during the colonial era to export materials and minerals on the other.

This expansion project will be implemented in cooperation with the US government, the European Union, African financial institutions, and the governments of Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia, with funding of $250 million from the US International Development Finance Corporation.

Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia.. Mineral countries:

In the context of the Lobito Corridor, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia play the role of key regions or hubs that provide vital minerals required by competing international powers. Since 2021, the two countries – among other African countries – have found themselves in the web of competition between China and the United States, which are trying to control the African mineral market; to secure the strategic minerals they need to operate advanced weapons systems and sustainable energy technology.

In the case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it occupies a strategic location in the center of the African continent, and shares borders with nine countries, including Zambia to the south and southeast, Angola to the southwest, the Angolan province of Cabinda to the west and the South Atlantic Ocean.

This geographical advantage also gives it vast resources including oil, gas, gold and diamonds, in addition to vital minerals that are important in global energy transition strategies, such as cobalt, copper and lithium ore. Some estimates put the DRC as having the largest reserves of lithium ore in the world, with 6.64 million tons of lithium stored in the Manono mine.

The country is also the world's largest producer of cobalt, accounting for about 70% of global production. In the south of the country is the “Cobalt Belt” region, whose cobalt supply is estimated at about 3.4 million tons, or about half of the known global supply.
In the case of Zambia, it is located at the crossroads of three African regions: Central Africa, Southern Africa and East Africa. It shares borders with strategic countries in terms of minerals and seas, including its borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the northeast, and Angola to the west.

Zambia is also located in the “cobalt belt,” and its resources include copper, nickel, gold, and a wide range of other energy-related industrial minerals, including uranium, coal, and hydrocarbons. Copper and cobalt form the backbone of the country’s economy, accounting for more than 70% of export earnings. Zambia is one of the world’s largest producers of copper, and the second largest in Africa after the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In the context of the Lobito Corridor, mining areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia before 2021 were controlled by Chinese and European companies, which means that the Biden administration needs a serious strategy to compete, represented by confronting China indirectly, and cooperating with the European Union and European companies. The American interest was supported by the fact that Felix Tshisekedi, the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, at that time was pressuring China to improve mining conditions.

It is worth noting that Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have signed a series of bilateral and international agreements related to their minerals since 2022; such as: the cooperation agreement signed between them in April 2022 to facilitate the development of the value chain in the electric battery and clean energy sector; and the memorandum of understanding they signed with the United States of America during the US-Africa Summit in December 2022; to develop a supply chain for electric vehicle batteries within the American private and investment sectors. The United States and the European Union also pledged on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in September 2023 to develop the Lobito Corridor.

This, in addition to other US initiatives, such as: Washington’s pressure on the Chinese government to relieve Zambia’s debt; the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) agreement with Zambia in 2022; US-Congolese military cooperation to build capacity in 2021 and 2023; and humanitarian “aid” totaling more than $838 million to the DRC in fiscal year 2024, and $32.3 million to Zambia to continue “accelerating” development in various sectors, according to a US Agency for International Development announcement in June 2024.

Angola and Tanzania.. Ports:

Some of the graphite mines in Tanzania include Lindi Jumbo Project, Mahingi Project, Ponyo Mine, Ibanko Mine, Natcho Project, etc.
There is a role that Angola and Tanzania can offer their landlocked neighbors (such as Zambia) or semi-landlocked neighbors (such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo) by providing ports for the export of resources and their transportation out of the African continent. This role is most important for Western countries, including Washington, which covet the resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. Angola is located in southwest Africa on the Atlantic coast, making it one of the strategically important sea lanes for the Central and Southern African regions, and is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north and Zambia to the east.

The United States is keen to add Tanzania to the Lobito Corridor, with the aim of expanding strategic resource transport routes to East Africa, which will reduce traditional reliance on the southern African region represented by the Angolan port of Lobito, and will facilitate access to the Indian Ocean via Tanzania, which has deep-water ports such as the port of Dar es Salaam, in addition to its membership in multiple trade organizations, including the Southern African Free Trade Area (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern Africa (COMESA).

Colonialism in a new guise?

Many, especially within Africa, have raised critical questions in recent years about the efforts of the United States and European countries to link the rich mines of northern Zambia and southern DRC to the ports of Tanzania on the Indian Ocean and Angola on the Atlantic.

Most of the questions center on the difference between recent Western efforts and the traditional colonial business model, whereby African countries provide raw materials to Western powers that re-export them in the form of finished products at exorbitant prices.

Although Washington officials have claimed that they will support Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to use their mineral resources to develop the value chain in the electric battery sector, some African economists have questioned these claims because they will be under American dominance.

While others wondered who would benefit most from using the Lobito Corridor to link the DRC’s cobalt belt to Zambia’s copper belt? What is Africa’s plan to ensure maximum benefit from transporting minerals, especially cobalt and copper, to ports (Lobito in Angola now and Tanzania later) and then to international markets? And what have African countries gained from their important roles in supporting Western industries? In contrast, they are ignored during global crises, as happened with the monopoly of coronavirus vaccines and the delay in the arrival of monkeypox vaccines?!

It is worth noting that Washington and some officials from countries involved in the Lobito Corridor repeatedly state that expanding the corridor to the Indian Ocean will improve export opportunities for countries that produce vital minerals, such as Zambia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is in line with the African Union’s agenda, which sees facilitating trade and linking transportation networks between African countries as capable of stimulating private sector growth and agribusiness.

However, recent developments regarding exports through the Lobito Corridor reveal that the United States and other foreign countries will be the biggest beneficiaries of the corridor’s development and expansion.

For example, while African mineral-producing countries in the Lobito Corridor rely on “aid” and seek debt relief, mining communities bear high environmental costs, and thousands of workers work in inhumane conditions, in August 2024, shipments of copper from the Congolese “copper belt” were transported via the Benguela railway, which was partially rehabilitated by a Chinese company, to the Angolan port of Lobito and then to Baltimore on the US East Coast.

Implications in the context of the Congolese-Rwandan crisis

Visits by several US officials to the DRC in recent years have coincided with other US efforts to bolster its strategic influence in the country, as relations between the West and Rwanda have been strained, especially amid growing criticism of Rwandan President Paul Kagame from the Western media.

On the other hand, relations between the United States and the Democratic Republic of the Congo go back decades, and the two countries have shared political files that changed their paths; such as the involvement of the American Central Intelligence Agency in the overthrow of the democratically elected government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the assassination of its leader, Patrice Lumumba, and the installation of Mobutu Sese Seko as head of power, as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo supplying the United States with uranium that it used to operate nuclear bombs during World War II.

Decades of U.S. support for Rwanda appear to be coming to an end, due to several factors, including growing criticism from the political opposition and media outlets that criticize Washington for supporting what they call Kagame’s “dictatorship,” especially after his administration arrested and imprisoned activists and politicians, including Paul Rusesabagina, who was based in the West.

The decline in US support for Kagame may be due to what Washington sees as a threat to its expected strategic interests in the region, especially in light of the rise of Rwandan influence after the military successes achieved by its forces in Mozambique and the Central African Republic, two countries rich in mineral resources. Washington plans to return to Bangui, where it is helping Rwandan forces strengthen its institutions, in exchange for mining concessions and agricultural projects for Kigali.

In the context of the conflict in eastern DRC, recent US decisions have strengthened the position of the Congolese government, which accuses Rwanda of being an “aggressor” and seeking to fuel the conflict in order to secure minerals in the region. Washington did not merely condemn Rwanda’s support for the M23 armed movement in eastern Congo, but also imposed sanctions on six individuals, including Rwandan military commander Brigadier General Andrew Nyamvumba, for their role in supporting armed groups involved in the conflict.

In addition, Congolese President Tshisekedi announced in 2021 a review of all previous contracts signed with Chinese companies. US media reports in May 2024 revealed that the Biden administration was considering easing sanctions on Israeli businessman Dan Gertler, who was accused of shady deals that cost the DRC more than $1.36 billion in revenue from 2010 to 2012.

One possible scenario is that Washington could force Dan Gertler to sell his copper and cobalt mining holdings in the DRC in exchange for lifting sanctions, giving American companies access to key minerals in the DRC.

This, however, runs counter to calls by some American think tanks to make the DRC a critical state for promoting American “values” of democracy, anti-corruption, and human rights. Indeed, the mere fact that the Biden administration is considering lifting sanctions on Gertler, despite the massive allegations against him, reinforces the position of those who see the actions of the United States and other foreign powers as nothing more than a rehash of the old colonial business model, in which their economic and industrial interests prevail over those of Africa.