Trucks in a queue to cross into the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Zambia. Congo is the world’s largest cobalt producer and one of the biggest sources of copper. Almost all the material is trucked by road from southeastern Congo to Zambia, destined for ports in South Africa, Tanzania and Mozambique.
The striking drivers were mainly from Zambia and Tanzania and were demanding an additional $700 per journey in risk payments. Tanzania’s ambassador to Congo traveled to Kolwezi last week to meet the provincial governor and help resolve the dispute.
Glencore declined to comment. Congo’s mines ministry and CMOC didn’t immediately respond to messages requesting comment, nor did Ivanhoe outside of normal business hours.
Ivanhoe said Nov. 10 it was working with government officials to mitigate any potential effects and did “not anticipate any material impact” on its operations.