The Nava Bharat Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Limited Maamba Collieries will be set up in the interest of protecting the environment and the people in the surrounding areas.

Mr Ashok Devineni company board chairperson said while speaking during the ground breaking ceremony to make the resumption of coal production at the mine, lying more than 350 kilometers from the capital Lusaka that the old coal washing plant had been decommissioned because of environmental concerns and a new one would be operational by September this year. The company would not take chances with the USD 700 million investment ploughed into the mine by the owners to ensure that the environment was safe.

He said during the ceremony which was officiated by President Mr Rupiah Banda and mines minister Mr Maxwell Mwale among other government officials that “We have placed an order for a new coal washing machine from South Africa.”

Mr Devineni said that the new 330 MW power plant to be built at Maamba Mine was the latest on the technological better than the Indian Nava Bharat Singapore thermal plant.

Mr Banda urged the government ministries tasked to ensure the construction of the thermal plant to expedite the process of ensuring that the project was on schedule. Government was committed to ensuring that the country remained a preferred investment destination for capital in the mining industry. The coal potential in Maamba remained unexploited. According to data, Maamba Cola mine has ore reserves of cola in excess of 70 million which has remained untapped. He tasked Nava Bharat to extend its ore reserves and ensure that the needs of the users and other consumers were met.

He added that the changing smelting technologies in the mining process had led to the decline in the demand for coal. The investment in Maamba coal mine was largely motivated by the need to produce coal for power generation and there is need for significant power shortage both in Zambia and the Southern African Development Community driven largely by growing industrial activities.

The development of the more than 300 megawatt thermal power plant in Maamba together with the development of the Kafue Lower power generation plant, Ithezi Thezi and other mini hydro power plants in the country is providing part of the solution to the increased demand for power.

The mines in Zambia, Africa’s largest copper producer consume about 50% of the total 1,400 MW that the country produces, leaving a deficit on other industries and have prompted the government to consider investment about USD 5 million to upgrade the power generation process in the country to meet local and export consumption.

Mr Banda said that the government was concerned at the increased levels of poverty in Sinazongwe, which hosts the mine and that the revival of Maamba coal mine would help alleviate the problem and enable people sustain themselves and better their lives.

(Filed by Mr Kapembwa Sinkamba SteelGuru Correspondent Zambia)