The Sunday Mail
Africa Moyo recently in HWANGE
MOTA-ENGIL Zimbabwe has ramped up production at Hwange Colliery, surpassing the contractual 200 000 tonnes of coal per month by 6,6 percent in February.
The increase was spurred by commissioning of state-of-the-art equipment worth US$24 million. The equipment includes two excavators — the only ones of their kind in Zimbabwe (Liebherr R9250) — and 10 dump trucks that carry 100 tonnes of coal per load.
The Portuguese conglomerate mobilised equipment in two phases, resulting in production falling below the target of 200 000 but still in tandem with the miner’s plans.
Mota-Engil was contracted by HCCL in 2013 to mine coal on its behalf in a US$260 million deal spanning five years.
Under the contract, the company was to bring its own mining equipment and produce 200 000 tonnes of coal per month, translating to about 2, 4 million tonnes per annum. Mota-Engil started mining in September 2014 and produced 130 000 tonnes after focusing on overburden stripping from July to August 2014. Since then, the company has been gradually ramping up production at HCCL’s Chaba Opencast Mine. Mota-Engil managing director Mr Blake Mhatiwa told The Sunday Mail Business last week after a tour of the mine, “For December 2014 and January 2015, Mota-Engil production was within 5 percent of target volumes. In February 2015, Mota-Engil achieved their highest production volume at Hwange since project inception, managing a record 213 144 tonnes of coal against a plan of 200 000 tonnes, which is a good 6,6 percent above planned production.”
HCCL has defied financial challenges largely attributed to a legacy debt of over US$160 million, to meet its side of the bargain. The HCCL/Mota-Engil contract is designed in such a way that the former mines 200 000 tonnes of coal a month and the latter pays within 45 days of delivery.
HCCL board chair Mr Farai Mutamangira said they were impressed by Mota-Engil’s performance. Mr Mutamangira would not say if HCCL would extend Mota-Engil’s contract, saying “their contract runs for five years and it is early days; let’s give them time”.
Coal production is expected to rise phenomenally, especially with HCCL expecting to take delivery of mining equipment worth US$31,2 million sourced from India and Eastern Europe starting this month.
Before Mota-Engil came in, coal deliveries to Hwange Thermal Power Station had declined from 581 000 to 394 000, with Makomo Resources becoming the biggest supplier of coal to the power station, as HCCL reeled under a myriad of challenges. Makomo produces about 250 000 tonnes of coal per month while at installed capacity of 920MW, Hwange Thermal Power Station requires 300 000 tonnes of coal monthly. With a presence in 10 African countries, Mota-Engil has 68 years of experience in infrastructure development in roads, rail, dams, airports and energy.
