Mer 2 Nov 2011 08:55
Mise en production Maamba
By NANCY MWAPE
MAAMBA Collieries Limited (MCL) is expected to commission production of coal of about 30,000 tonnes next month.
MCL head of corporate affairs Janardhan Lavu said the company anticipates to produce between 20,000 tonnes and 30,000 tonnes by December.
Mr Lavu said mining activities have started with over 80 workers already employed and an additional 100 people expected to be engaged later.
In an interview on Monday, Mr Lavu said works at the coal processing plant are under way and should be finished end of this month.
MCL will by the end of this month commission the new handling and processing plant with state-of-art technology designed to improve performance and reduce plant height as a component of safety compared to the conventional ones.
He said construction works of thermal a plant have been awarded to SEPCO, a Chinese firm, is expected to start works in January 2012 and finish within 33 months.
The firm’s initial plans are to construct a power line with a capacity to generate 300 megawatts (MW) and later an additional 300 MW in phase two of the project to mitigate the power deficit affecting Zambia and the entire Southern Africa Development Community.
“SEPCO has engaged local contracting companies for soil investigation that includes civil works and other works. The environmental impact assessment was done and works can only start once approved by the Zambia Environment Management Agency,” he said.
Mr Lavu said MCL management is also discussing with Government to speed up the rehabilitation works for Maamba-Batoka bridge to ease transportation of coal adding that failure to repair the bridges will make the area unreachable, especially when the rains start.
The company has also partnered with the Rural Roads Unit (RRU) to rehabilitate the 32-kilometre Maamba-Masuku road. MCL is providing for materials required for roa works and diesel while the RRU is providing equipment and staff.
“We are discussing with Government to speed up works that started in June. The challenge is that the equipment has been withdrawn and the contractor deployed to other projects. If this road is also not completed before the rains, we will have problems,” he said.
Mr Lavu said Maamba-Masuku road leads to the rail terminal that can be used to transport coal to other parts of the country.
He said the company has engaged the Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication to ensure the two roads are dealt with before the onset of the rains.
Meanwhile, MCL is waiting to finalise the service agreement with Zesco Limited to pave way for construction of the 33 kilovolt transmission power line from the mine to Muzuma sub-station in Choma.
The construction works of a power line will cover a 30-kilometre stretch from the planned thermal power plant.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 01 November 2011 16:45 )