Zijin Mining, the Chinese mining giant, has recently ordered two 3,000-ton cargo ships for its mineral transport operations on Lake Tanganyika in East Africa. This contract marks another step towards expanding the company's mineral transport capacity.
Details of the New Order
This new order follows a previous order for four 2,000-ton ships from the same Chinese shipbuilding factory, Shandong Xinneng. The previous ships are currently operating on the lake between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. The new ships, with a 50% increase in volume, will raise Zijin's total lake transport capacity to 6,000 tons. The contract value and delivery date for these ships have not yet been announced.
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Transport Strategy
Investment in these ships is part of Zijin's efforts to create an alternative export corridor for minerals extracted from its operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The group's current transport operations connect Congolese cargoes to Kigoma in Tanzania, from where they can access Indian Ocean export infrastructure in the country.
The four previous lake ships of Zijin were built through a special contract in which the ship hull sections were produced in China and assembled in Tanzania. This process helps the company overcome logistical challenges related to building ships for Africa's inland waterways. To support its growing mineral interests in Central Africa, the company has established this transport route, reducing reliance on existing land transport connections.
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