Hwange acquires equipment

Business Reporter
HWANGE Colliery Company Limited has acquired new equipment from China as the company targets to raise production, the company’s spokesperson said yesterday.The coal mining company would receive the first batch of the mining equipment this week, spokesperson Mr Burzil Dube said in an interview.

Some 100-tonne trucks have already been cleared by regulatory authorities at the Beitbridge Border Post.
The company recently paid part of the US$12 million to Sany Heavy Equipment Corporation for the mining equipment.

“To be more precise, two dump (100-tonne) trucks will be at the mine within the next two days while the rest will be shipped in phases as we seek to ramp up our production capacity which has in the past been affected by ageing equipment. This in turn had a negative impact on the company’s revenue base,” said Mr Dube.

Some of the machinery ordered includes 10 dump trucks with capacity of between 55 and 100 tonnes, two excavators and a 55-tonne crane. The company is also in the process of acquiring other mining support equipment such as drills “so that it operates at full capacity to meet both domestic and foreign demand”.

Mining production at the mine had in the past few years been affected by equipment inefficiencies which the company said had a negative effect on payment of salaries.

The company owes workers outstanding salaries and efforts are underway to “clear the backlog”.
The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed company has an installed capacity of 400 000 tonnes per month but this has been reduced to more than half due equipment constraints.

Hwange requires US$175 million to fully recapitalise. But due to prevailing liquidity challenges, the company has been unable to raise adequate working capital.

In June this year, the management said the procurement of additional mining equipment from China North Industries Corporation and XCMG, totalling about US$22 million, was being executed and delivery was expected before the end of the year.

The company remained weighed down by legacy debts accumulated in the last five years.