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Oliver Kazunga-Senior Business Reporter
MUCHESU Coal Mine in Binga, Matabeleland North Province will later this month complete the installation of new processing equipment following the US$20 million investment by its new Chinese investor.
The capital injection was meant to finance the construction of a 3 000 tonne per day Dense Media Separation (DMS) plant and the significant expansion of the open pit mine to grow production.
The investment resulted in the disposal of 51 percent shareholding in the colliery by Contango Holdings Plc, a United Kingdom-based mining firm, to Mr Wencai Huo — the new Chinese investor who is based in Zimbabwe.
“The DMS installation is nearing completion, with testing and commissioning expected in the first half of November, ahead of the start of production and processing in the second half of November.
“As previously reported the DMS plant will be calibrated to process readily available coking coal,” said Contango in a latest update.
The colliery is one of the signature investments under the Second Republic expected to deliver substantial benefits for locals and the broader economy.
President Mnangagwa in July last year commissioned the coal mine that extends 19 236 hectares of the highly prospective Karroo Mid Zambezi coal basin situated in the established Hwange mining district in north-western Zimbabwe.
In September this year, Contango announced that the investor had hit the ground running following the delivery of several capital items including excavators and trucks, which at the time enabled the stripping of an estimated 20 000 square metres of overburden material to enlarge the existing open pit.
Online Reporter