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Business Reporter

HWANGE Colliery Company Ltd has redeployed its new equipment to Chaba to realise its “full potential” with the group expecting output to double to 300 000 tonnes per month. The equipment, acquired from India and Belarus had been deployed at a deeper open pit which had high water levels and this made it difficult to achieve optimal potential.

“Since March we have been doing mine development and we have just finished the re-deployment of the equipment,” Hwange managing director Mr Thomas Makore said yesterday, We are now working on finalising a loan facility of $7,5 million and production will then start.”

Mr Makore said the company would be able to realise efficiency mainly due to low production costs at the new site. In June last year, the coal miner commissioned the equipment worth $32 million and monthly production was expected to reach over 500 000 tonnes per month. However, monthly coal production has remained below 150 000 tonnes.

The equipment remained largely underutilized due to working capital shortages needed to optimize its usage. The management has said it requires adequate working capital to build up enough stocks of consumables such as fuel, explosive and lubricants. With challenges facing Hwange, the country is likely to miss targeted production output of 4,8 million tonnes this year. Hwange and Makomo Resources are major coal producers in Zimbabwe. The two companies are main suppliers of coal to Hwange Thermal Station, which generates about half of the country’s electricity requirements. Last week, Makomo Resources said it may be forced to halt its coal mining operations in Hwange as Zimbabwe Power Company, which operates the power station, the country’s largest in terms of capacity, was struggling to pay for substantial supplies of coal.