GBR talks to Abraham Witika, CEO of Ndola Lime Company.

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Laf1986

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Inscription: Jeu 30 Juil 2009 19:54

Message Lun 23 Déc 2013 20:35

GBR talks to Abraham Witika, CEO of Ndola Lime Company.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2013 · 1:07 PM

GBR talks to Abraham Witika, CEO of Ndola Lime Company.

Ndola Lime has a rich history since its inception in 1931 and is one of the few parastatal mining companies in Zambia today. Please elaborate on your evolution and current operations in Zambia?

AW: Ndola Lime Company Limited (NLC) was founded in 1931 and has been based at its current site in Ndola since the 1960’s. NLC experienced trying times in the early 2000’s when its parent company, ZCCM Ltd. was privatized, during which time there was no investment in the company. During the privatization process of the Zambian mining industry, the aim was for the company to be sold by 1997, which never happened. As a result of the lack of investment, performance was deteriorating and in 2006, NLC was allowed to recapitalize. Borrowing from lending institutions was no easy feat, as the company was then making losses and the overall balance sheet was weak. The company started to invest slowly into mining and processing equipment through loans and own cash generation. These investments started to pay off when in 2009 we started boasting profits and our balance sheet was improving. To further strengthen the company, the Recapitalization Project was commissioned, within which we are currently installing a new vertical kiln and a hydrating plant with associated plants, which we expect to commission before the end of 2013. With the investment made so far we are now able to produce 800 mt of quicklime per day, doubling production of 400 mt previously.

What are the biggest challenges in an operation of the size of the Ndola Lime Company Ltd?

AW: To operate at this capacity NLC invested $5 million to get dust control units that allowed us to operate two kilns within the compliance of ZEMA’s environmental regulation since 2010. The cost of production remains very high, as the two kilns currently in operation are running on heavy fuel oil (HFO), costing five times more than coal. The effect of the recent significant increase in prices of heavy fuel oil and diesel is a corresponding increase in product prices. More than 50% of Ndola Lime operating costs is on HFO and diesel and we cannot operate without passing that cost on to our clients, meaning that we lose out to the competition that operate on coal. Ndola Lime’s third kiln will be able to use coal and will increase our production level to more than a 1000 mt per day, but most importantly, it will start bringing the cost of production down. To further reduce the cost of production, we have planned to convert the firing on the existing kilns from HFO to coal.

Where is the biggest demand for limestone products coming from?

AW: The demand is coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where we are aiming to sell approximately 100 mt per day, but even our enhanced production capacity will not be able to meet the current and future demand growth in the DRC. The copper mines in the DRC treat oxide ores, which require acid to extract and hence requires lime. The DRC currently imports lime from as far away as Thailand, Indonesia and Turkey and is therefore is a good market for Ndola Lime to penetrate. There is also local demand mainly from the mining companies; however, most of the Zambian copper mines treat sulphide ores, which in most cases do not require lime. Konkola Copper mine treats oxide ores and hence requires lime, while Mopani and Chambishi are using lime for cobalt production, and other mines such as Luanshya are also using our lime in limited amounts. Ndola Lime is able to satisfy the local demand of about 400 mt of quicklime a day and also exports to Malawi for their sugar refineries. Some exports are also allocated to Zimbabwe for water treatment and operations of a few of the smaller mines.

What is your vision for Ndola lime for the medium term?

AW: Ndola Lime has grown from operating one kiln in 2009 to running three kilns by 2014. We expect to improve the efficiency of the older kilns and should become much stronger in terms of output and cost of production as we turn to coal firing. Ndola Lime will satisfy the Zambian mining industry in the supply of lime and should maintain a reasonable market share in the DRC, Malawi and Zimbabwe in the next five years. Ndola Lime can go on for more than 30 years on its current deposit. Our vision is to be amongst the leading suppliers of limestone products in Africa and our history proves that we will do it.
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LesCrozes

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Message Mar 24 Déc 2013 07:29

Re: GBR talks to Abraham Witika, CEO of Ndola Lime Company.

Excellent article car il donne une bonne vision de la transformation très importante à laquelle Ndola Lime Company s'est livrée ces dernières années.

Depuis la fin des années 90 et jusqu'en 2006, Ndola était en déshérence. Après une longue période de vache maigre avec l'absence de tout nouvel investissement, la société s'est retrouvée avec un équipement désuet et inadapté. NLC a bien évidement perdu nombre de ses clients et sa production a chuté.
La décision de reprendre les investissements en 2066. puis l'accélération de ceux-ci en 2009 jusqu'à aujourd'hui, a permis une complète renaissance de l'entreprise.
La société exploitera en 2014 pas moins de trois fours modernes ou modernisés et verra sa production doubler, passant de 400 à 800 tonnes de chaux par jour. Les clients de NLC se trouvent parmi les nombreuses mines en Zambie et au Congo (DRC), mais encore dans toute l'industrie de l'Afrique subéquatoriale.

Le schéma de développement de Ndola n'est pas sans rappeler celui des mines de cuivre et de charbon dans lesquelles ZCCM-IH est investi.
La quasi totalité de ces mines ont procédé à des investissements colossaux ces dernières années et sont en passe d'en récolter les fruits dans les mois et les années à venir.
Ce que l'on conçoit bien, s'énonce clairement, Et les mots pour le dire arrivent aisément. BOILEAU
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Laf1986

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Message Mar 24 Déc 2013 10:09

Re: GBR talks to Abraham Witika, CEO of Ndola Lime Company.

Selon l article a fin 2013, nous avons 1 nouveau four tout moderne qui a fait doubler la production.

On a pas d infos sur la date pour le changement en charbon des deux anciens fous
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Ojikto

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Message Mar 24 Déc 2013 12:04

Re: GBR talks to Abraham Witika, CEO of Ndola Lime Company.

La société exploitera en 2014 pas moins de trois fours modernes ou modernisés et verra sa production doubler, passant de 400 à 800 mille tonnes de chaux par jour. Les clients de NLC se trouvent parmi les nombreuses mines en Zambie et au Congo (DRC), mais encore dans toute l'industrie de l'Afrique subéquatoriale.


Petite précision : mt signifie metric ton en anglais.

La production journalière de Ndola est donc de 400 tonnes et va passer à 800 tonnes.
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LesCrozes

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Message Mar 24 Déc 2013 12:19

Re: GBR talks to Abraham Witika, CEO of Ndola Lime Company.

Ojikto a écrit:
La société exploitera en 2014 pas moins de trois fours modernes ou modernisés et verra sa production doubler, passant de 400 à 800 mille tonnes de chaux par jour. Les clients de NLC se trouvent parmi les nombreuses mines en Zambie et au Congo (DRC), mais encore dans toute l'industrie de l'Afrique subéquatoriale.
Petite précision : mt signifie metric ton en anglais.

La production journalière de Ndola est donc de 400 tonnes et va passer à 800 tonnes.

Merci Ojikto pour la correction.
Le chiffre me paraissait très élevé mais je ne connaissais pas la précieuse précision que tu nous apportes.
En conséquence, j'ai corrigé mon commentaire initial.
Ce que l'on conçoit bien, s'énonce clairement, Et les mots pour le dire arrivent aisément. BOILEAU

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