Maamba Collieries Limited (MCL) acquires a new processing plant
Maamba Collieries Limited (MCL) has acquired a new processing plant that is scheduled to be mounted in three months’ time.
The firm is jointly owned by Nava Bharat Ferro Alloys Limited (NBFA) and the Zambian government.
MCL has announced that it has secured $100 million for its new thermal power plant that is expected to contribute 300 megawatts of electricity to the national grid.
According to MCL chief executive officer Kalunga Mumba, another $108 million will be spent on building a new processing plant to replace the old one that had become obsolete.
“The initial idea was to revamp production but unfortunately the equipment was not usable and declared scrap. The coal processing plant is not usable and also declared redundant and we will have to pull it out,” Mr Mumba elaborated.
Construction of the thermal power plant that will take two and half years to complete was currently underway.
“The power plant will cost between $440 to $508 million depending on the final layout. It will feed into the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) grid and negotiations have advanced to determine who will finance the power substations and power lines. $100 million of that amount will come from share capital while the remainder will be sourced from syndicated finance through international finance arrangements.
The power plant will initially produce 300 MW which would be doubled with time if coal stocks remained available.
$108 million will be invested in the new processing plant, equipment and housing.
MCL is Zambia’s largest coal supplier and currently mines two open cast mines in the Kanzize and Izuma basins in Southern Province . The mine has 78.2 million tonnes of coal reserves, enough to sustain operations for over 90 years.
Prior to its recent partial privatization, government’s 100 percent stake in MCL was transferred to ZCCM-Investments Holdings to revamp operations at the coal mine, transform it into a viable business entity and improve coal supply for enhanced industrial production.
