A spokesperson for China Molybdenum Co. Ltd says the mining firm is now shipping to China copper and cobalt it mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo through ports in Mozambique, Tanzania and Namibia, Reuters reports.
The news agency says the company can no longer ship the output of its Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine through South African ports because they are closed to all but essential goods due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report says the Chinese firm is sending its copper and cobalt through several small ports in Mozambique, as well as through Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Walvis Bay in Namibia.
China Molybdenum sold 5,334 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide, which is used to make batteries for electric vehicles, in the first quarter of this year, 49.3 percent more than a year earlier, Reuters quotes the company as telling the stock market in writing last week.
(Source) Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao): https://www.forumchinaplp.org.mo/china-molybdenum-sending-home-copper-cobalt-via-mozambique