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SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

 

MAAMBA COLLIERIES UNVEILS GAME CHANGING MINING EQUIPMENT

Minister of Mines and Minerals Development highlights importance of coal and coal-based electricity to national economy and the country’s energy diversification mix

 

MAAMBA, ZAMBIA – Minister of Mines and Minerals Development Hon. Richard Musukwa, MP this weekend officially inaugurated Maamba Collieries Ltd.’s (MCL) most recent acquisition, the state-of-the-art, high technology Surface Miner.
Maamba Collieries Ltd thus becomes the first mining firm in Zambia to operate this state-of-the-art Surface Miner, which can be used to mine in layers by using a milling drum, without the need to drill & blast.
Maamba Collieries Ltd is no stranger to industry-defining mining equipment being home to the legendary Bucyrus Erie 1260-W Walking Dragline, popularly known as the Zambian Queen – which held the record for the largest single mining equipment in Zambia for decades after its official commissioning in 1971.
This time around, MCL has chosen precision and modern technology over brute force, with the surface miner ensuring optimal efficiency while mining coal.
The high-tech equipment boasts a 3.8 metre drum optimised for maximum productivity at minimum cost over Maamba’s soft rock. At the same time, the diesel tank with a capacity of 2,300 litres makes it possible to operate the machine around the clock with only one stop to refuel per day, resulting in greater productivity. The surface miner technology allows extraction of coal and other minerals, without the need for drilling and blasting as hitherto – an advancement which is in line with MCL’s commitment to sustainable mining.
MCL, which operates the nation’s largest coal mining concession mines both high-grade coal which meets the demand of domestic construction sector and thermal-grade coal which is used in its thermal power plant to generate electricity.
MCL CEO addressing the gathering said, “I would like to state that in pursuance of our aim to provide continued power to the people of Zambia, the capital procurement of this state-of-the-art surface miner despite many operational challenges, highlights the commitment of our sponsors and management to bringing high technology equipment into its mine, thereby ensuring highest standards in its mining operations.”
Speaking during the launch, Minister of Mines Hon. Richard Musukwa said that coal based electricity that continues generating power independent of climate change and provides diversity of the energy mix, had proved to be critical to the energy sector in reducing load shedding, as the drought experienced over the past five years had reduced generation capacity of the country’s hydroelectric power stations.
The Minister said: “MCL today is the nation’s largest independent power producer and the second largest source of electricity generation in the country. Therefore, investments like the one made by Maamba Collieries must be supported by all key stakeholders.”The Minister said: “MCL today is the nation’s largest independent power producer and the second largest source of electricity generation in the country. Therefore, investments like the one made by Maamba Collieries must be supported by all key stakeholders.
“Such huge investment is made on the background of sourcing resource and finance from international lenders and market players – financial giants – which Maamba has an obligation to meet, and I want to urge third players to this mix – ZESCO; Treasury – to ensure that they support Maamba by meeting their obligations so as for Maamba equally to meet its obligation to the lenders,
“If you look at the project and how it was structured, by this time Maamba should have been going on the second phase of the project, for which I am reliably told all the facets are in place but awaits resources. I implore our colleagues, especially ZESCO and the Treasury, because I am aware this project exists on a guarantee from government and that it should be prioritised in terms of liquidation of its indebtedness so that they continue to support the development of the operation, the placement of jobs to our local people and also the confidence in an international market where they need to get resource to start and finish the second project.”
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About Maamba Collieries Ltd
Maamba Collieries Limited (MCL), in Sinazongwe District in Southern Province, is Zambia’s largest coal mine and the nation’s biggest Independent Power Producer (IPP) with Zambia’s only coal-fired Thermal Power Plant (TPP).
The company operates a 300 MW (2 X 150 MW units) modern, eco-friendly coal-fired power plant – the only one of its kind in Zambia – with the capacity to supply 10 percent of the country’s current installed electricity generation capacity.
MCL is owned 65 percent by Nava Bharat Singapore Pte and 35 percent by ZCCM-IH, with some US$919 million invested since 2010.
The plant provides diversity in the nation’s energy mix and contributes to the nation’s base load electricity demand with high-availability power that is independent of climate change, thereby augmenting energy security of Zambia.

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