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Tinashe Makichi Business Reporter
AIM-listed exploration and development company, Sable Mining has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a Chinese construction company CITIC for the development of a 600 megawatts coal fired plant at the company’s Lubu coal project in Zimbabwe.

Under the terms of the MoU, Sable and CITIC will explore the opportunities of using their respective expertise to work together to develop a commercial coal-fired power station at Lubu.

It is the company’s intention that coal mined at Lubu which is located in the Mid Karoo Zambezi coal basin in the Hwange mining district will supply the power station.

“Sable Mining, the AIM listed exploration and development company, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with a view to developing a 600Mw coal-fired power plant at the Company’s 19 236 hectares Lubu Coal Project in Zimbabwe (Lubu), with CITIC Construction Co Ltd, a subsidiary of CITIC Group, a Chinese-based construction and services provider,” said the company in a statement.

Sable said the MoU is supported by the Government and the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, which is the administration in charge of power development, in line with its mandate to promote the development of energy and power generation in Zimbabwe.

“Considering the energy and power dynamics in southern Africa, there is a major demand for a secure and reliable power supply, which will continue to grow unless new power sources are established.

“Our proposition is to develop a 600Mw coal power station in conjunction with CITIC and with the support of the Zimbabwean Government,” said Sable Mining chief executive Mr Andrew Groves.

He said this will represent a significant step forward in solving the ongoing energy deficit which is currently presenting significant obstacles to development within Southern Africa.

“The combination of our quality coal together with CITIC’s access to power plant infrastructure, financing and construction expertise has the potential to create a long-term power supply which, due to Lubu’s strategic location in north-west Zimbabwe, could supply both domestic and regional demand once connected to the established power grid.

Our team now looks forward to exploring the commercial potential of this MoU further with the CITIC team and moving forwards with this project at speed,” said Mr Groves.

The power plant would have the potential to supply electricity to both domestic and regional customers.