Coal news and updates

Coal miner Makomo Resources says it has secured six locomotives to move its product to mitigate against falling capacity at the state-owned National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) which it blames for a 38 percent drop in sales last year.

 

The company sold one million tonnes of coal last year from 1,6 million in 2013 and Makomo general manager Samson Mabvira told The Source that operational challenges at NRZ were to blame.

 

“The decline was due to challenges in railage due to capacity constraints by NRZ. However, Makomo has since sourced its own dedicated fleet of six locomotives in order to address the supply chain constraints,” said Mabvira.

 

NRZ officials were unavailable to comment.

 

Mabvira recently said the company was getting wagons from South African logistics giant Grindrod Limited, which is fast becoming a major player locally.

 

Last June Grindrod snapped up an 85 percent stake in Bulawayo-Beitbridge Railway (BBR) and entered into an agreement with the National Railways of Zimbabwe to service and market the 470 kilometre rail between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls to provide a North-South corridor.

 

The agreement means that the South African company will service the railway line and market it, increasing earnings for the cash strapped parastatal. However, NRZ remains the owner and operator of the track, which completes the line between South Africa and Zambia through Zimbabwe.

 

Makomo, situated in the Hwange coal belt, was last year producing in excess of 200,000 tonnes of coal per month.

 

It installed a $14 million coal washing plant which it said was paying dividends as it increased production.

 

Zimbabwe Power Company’s Hwange Station and small power stations in Bulawayo, Harare and Munyati are the local buyers of coal for power generation while plans are still underway to penetrate the region.

 

Coal depots at the company’s Entuba Coalfields in Hwange are estimated to last between 25 to 30 years and the company has been engaging its partners for new concessions.

 

Makomo is one of the five private firms which were licenced by the Government in 2010 to mine coal in Matabeleland North province.

 

The mine, which is owned by Zimbabweans who have a 60 percent stake while 40 percent is owned by foreigners, also produces coal peas for small power stations, cobbles for tobacco farmers, rounds and nuts for the cement manufacturing industry.

 

 

 

 

Source: http://www.zimeye.com/