October 07, 2008

Zimbabwe stops mining power generating coal

Local media reported that Zimbabwe faced a severe new threat to its crippled electricity supplies after coal production for the country's major thermal power station broke down following a power cut. The government owned Hwange Colliery Company stopped mining coal after a power outage.

Mr Burzil Dube spokesman of Hwange Colliery Company said that "Most operations have been stopped. This has greatly affected coal output. It was the first power outage in 2 years at the colliery, which is usually exempted from power cuts on the crippled national electricity grid.”

However, coal production has been repeatedly interrupted by breakdowns in equipment and machinery. The colliery has been producing 30 000 tonnes of coal a month, against a target of 50 000 tonnes. Although the colliery sits on a coalfield with an estimated life of 5 000 years, it struggles to meet national demand.

The colliery is the sole supplier of coal to the adjacent 1,200 MW Hwange thermal power station in north west Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe has been reeling under a series of nationwide power cuts since Saturday last when whole cities were blacked out repeatedly for hours on end. The blackouts were the worst in the past 2 years, during which continual power cuts have become a way of life in Zimbabwean homes and companies.