Hwange Colliery expected to produce 300 000 tonnes of coal per month - deputy Minister

Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development Fred Moyo has told parliament that with the recent acquired mining equipment the Hwange Colliery Company will be possibly able to produce around 300 000 tonnes of coal per month.

Moyo was respondning to Chegutu MP Dexter Nduna who had asked the deputy minister to0 explain how much in terms of percentages, quantum of the equipment at work or the production in place because of the obsolete equipment that is currently at Hwange.

"It is either the equipment at work is going to produce for us the percentage amount of production that is currently prevailing because of equipment that is obsolete," Nduna said.

Moyo said the pieces of equipment that were purchased amount to about 35, I cannot be exact.

"Out of that equipment, I said only two pieces are giving problems which is the two excavators that belong to the suite that came from India. With regards to the output, our plan at the moment is that this equipment must produce a minimum of 150 000 tonnes per month and the contractor will produce a 150 000 tonnes per month and that will give 300 000 tonnes of coal per month. That should more or less satisfy the current market demand," Moyo said.