Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve recently in Hwange
THE Hwange Colliery Company Holdings says its US$8 million coke oven battery revamping project is 95 percent complete with pre-heating tests expected to begin next week.
The project completion could be a huge milestone in the company’s transformation journey with positive impacts through value addition and beneficiation of coal resources.
A recent visit by Zimpapers to the project site revealed significant progress, with engineers and technicians putting final touches on the facility, which ceased operations some years back.
Once operational, the coke oven battery will process coal into high-value coke, a key ingredient in steel production, while also extracting lucrative by-products such as tar, bitumen and carbon black.
HCCL administrator Mr Munashe Shava confirmed the developments, and said the project was now in its final stages before full commissioning.
“The coke oven battery is now sitting at 95 percent, which basically means that we are done. The next stage is what we call pre-heating,” he said.
“The coke oven battery needs to operate at temperatures of about 1 200 degrees Celsius, and you need to build that heat up to those levels over time.
“The projections are that we need about 65 to 90 days to build that heat. So that’s the process we are beginning later this month, around the 15th of August.
“We are starting pre-heating before we introduce the coal into the battery. So, that is where we are,” said Mr Shava.
He said the project will revolutionise HCCL’s operations, moving the company beyond mere coal mining into high-
value processing.
“What we are doing, as we already alluded to, is we are now not just mining coal and selling coal products. We are now producing coke.
“We are now value-adding into coke, and not only that, we are also going to be processing by-products, tar into bitumen, we are also going to do the gas recovery, and we are also going to do what we call further processing to get carbon black, which is a high-value product,” said Mr Shava.
“So, our revenue generation is now going to be multi-streamed, and we are excited about that.”
He said the project aligns with the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and will contribute significantly towards Zimbabwe’s goal of achieving an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
“Definitely, we are looking forward to contributing significantly towards the achievement of middle-income status,” said Mr Shava.
Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere, who visited the company last Friday, highlighted the strategic importance of the coke oven battery in enhancing Zimbabwe’s steel industry and reducing reliance on imports.
“The production of foundry and metallurgical coke is of great importance to steel production,” said Dr Muswere.
He noted that Zimbabwe was in the past spending over a billion dollars annually on steel imports, a trend that is now being reversed by local steel production.
“As a country, in terms of trade figures and in terms of balance of trade, we used to import steel worth more than a billion dollars annually,” said Dr Muswere.
“But now, with the coming on board of the Manhize Steel Plant in the Midlands province, that ensures that we can then achieve a positive balance of trade in terms of steel production in our country, thereby contributing towards the modernisation and development.”
The completion of the coke oven battery is expected to create employment, stimulate downstream industries, and position Zimbabwe as a key player in the regional steel and coke markets.
With pre-heating set to begin next week, Zimbabwe is moving closer to unlocking the full potential of its coal resources, marking a new chapter in industrial growth.
Bongani Ndlovu