Miner recommissions hydropower station
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Katamba Mining has invested more than $80-million into the recommissioning of the dam"
SIZEABLE INVESTMENT Katamba Mining has invested more than $80-million into the recommissioning of the dam
A joint venture between China’s Zijin Mining Group and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) State-owned mining company Cominiere Katamba Mining has seen the completion of the recommissioning of the Mpiana-Mwanga hydroelectric power station, with the installation of new generating facilities.
Katamba Mining has, so far, invested more than $80-million into the recommissioning of the dam, with more than 300 people having worked over 15 months to restore the dam and its generating capacity.
The ongoing operation of the hydroelectric dam will see the creation of 100 new local jobs.
The recommissioning project has seen Katamba Mining replace all of the hydro generation equipment and metal structural equipment of the original dam, with the new power station currently possessing an installed capacity of 40 MW and a yearly power output of 186-million kWh.
The resulting plant has the capacity to generate 30% more electricity than the previous one, which was decommissioned in the 1980s.
The original power station was built in 1927 and the last generator unit ceased operation in October 1997, following damage caused to it during a war.
Katamba Mining started work to recommission the hydroelectric power station in September 2023, and the first turbine producing electricity was activated in December 2024.
Katamba Mining has also constructed a 90-km-long road connecting the power station and the town of Manono. This infrastructure investment is set to deliver long-term economic benefits for the community through improving transportation and logistics.
Recommissioning the project as a brownfield renewable source of energy ensures that it is a “centre of investment and economic development”, says Zijin Mining VP James Wang.
“Having a reliable source of hydroelectric power will play a role in transforming this part of the DRC,” he concludes.
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