On his last foreign trip as U.S. president, Joe Biden visited the Angolan port of Lobito in December 2024 and unveiled what he described as a “game changer” investment project that would supply rare earths without the need to rely on China.
The Lobito Corridor is a railroad project that connects the Atlantic coast port to the mineral-rich African interior, including Kolwezi in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ndola in Zambia’s copper belt.
Washington has been seeking to challenge China’s dominance in parts of Africa and secure access to the continent’s critical mineral reserves….