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CEC, Konkola North Copper mine seal 25-year power deal

MessagePosté: Dim 19 Déc 2010 23:54
de bingogo
CEC, Konkola North Copper mine seal 25-year power deal
By CYNTHIA MWALE

COPPERBELT Energy Corporation (CEC) and Konkola North Copper (Konnoco) mine have entered into a 25-year power agreement to supply 100 megawatts of electricity for its mine in Chililabombwe.

CEC needs about US$15 million to reinforce and extend its power infrastructure to supply the full power requirements of Konnoco.

This is contained in a CEC announcement issued by its sponsoring broker, Stockbrokers Zambia Limited, in Lusaka last week.

The statement says the two firms have further entered into a second agreement called the Connection Agreement through which a project to extend the CEC power infrastructure to Konkola North mine will be financed and implemented.

It says the capital expenditure will, however, be staged in line with the planned phasing of the development of the mine.

Konnoco plans to develop the mine in two phases swith the first phase currently in progress to be completed by the first quarter of 2013.

Under phase one, the mine will start taking part in power requirements of 40MW by October 2011 and the second phase of Konkola North Copper mine is envisaged 4-6 years later once fully implemented, resulting in an additional power demand of 60mw bringing the total 100mw.

The statement says the partnership will contribute to Zambia’s economic wealth through job creation, additional taxation and other benefits.

Last year, Konnoco Zambia Limited, a subsidiary of Teal Exploration and Mining Incorporated, proposed to develop Konkola North mine and a concentrator in Chililabombwe.

The company said then that it planned to build a concentrator next to the existing old shaft to process 125,000 tonnes of ore per month. This is contained in an environmental impact statement submitted to the Environmental Council of Zambia.

Konnoco, the developer Konkola North Copper mine, is jointly owned by Africa Rainbow minerals of South Africa and Vale of Brazil.

CEC, a private power utility, has a long standing history of supporting and supplying power to the mines.