Zambezi Gas to ramp up output to 200 000 tonnes

Oliver Kazunga, Acting Business Editor

THE country’s second largest coal producer, Zambezi Gas is targeting to increase output to 200 000 tonnes next month on the back of a US$3 million investment in new opencast mining equipment.

Zambezi Gas, which at present is producing 100 000 tonnes per month from the existing opencast pit, commissioned the new mining equipment procured from China towards the end of last year.

The latest mining equipment comprises excavators, bull dozers, water bowsers, graders and dump trucks, among others.

Speaking by telephone, the colliery’s operations director Engineer Menard Makota said to ramp up production to the projected output, they were in the process of removing overburden material from the northern pit (their second opencast pit).

“We are at the stage where we are now removing the overburden material at the site of the second opencast pit.

“We are hopeful that because of the latest equipment, our capacity has now improved by an additional 100 000 tonnes per month and in February we’ll be ramping up production to 200 000 tonnes per month,” he said.

The second pit will also pave way for opening of underground mine planned later in the year. – @okazunga