Trafigura Pays $200M for Congo Copper in Ivanhoe Smelter Deal Amid Tightening Global Supplyy
Trafigura Group has agreed to pay $200 million in a prepayment deal to secure copper anodes from Ivanhoe Mines’ new smelter in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is expected to begin operations in September.
The agreement, finalized in June, was announced by Ivanhoe in a statement on Tuesday. The deal highlights the growing trend of global commodity trading firms — including Mercuria and Vitol — offering upfront financing to lock in future supplies of critical metals as global competition intensifies.
Under the three-year agreement, Trafigura, the world’s largest independent copper trader, will receive 20% of the copper anodes produced by the new smelter.
The prepayment will accrue interest at the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus 3.75%. The remaining 80% of output is allocated to Ivanhoe’s joint venture partners — China’s CITIC Metal and Zijin Mining Group.
Trafigura declined to comment on the deal.
The smelter, with a planned capacity of 500,000 metric tons per year, is poised to become Africa’s largest copper smelting facility.
It forms part of Ivanhoe’s Kamoa-Kakula complex, a major copper mining hub in the DRC. However, operations at Kamoa-Kakula have recently faced challenges due to seismic activity and flooding that began in May.
In addition to the Trafigura agreement, Kamoa Copper — the Ivanhoe subsidiary managing the complex — has also extended a $200 million loan facility with South Africa’s Standard Bank for another 12 months, providing further financial stability as the project advances.
The Trafigura deal underscores the increasing urgency among trading houses and end users to secure reliable supplies of copper, a metal vital to the global clean energy transition and high-tech industries.
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