Company Profile
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The firm commenced operations at the open cast mine soon after and as the economy of the nation grew on attaining independence in 1964, so too did the demand for coal – pushing the mine’s production to its limit. Realising the need of the hour, the company commissioned the Zambian Queen – the machine was one of only three in the world and the largest single piece of mining equipment in Zambia. During this boom period from 1970s till the turn of the century, MCL met and even surpassed the 100, 000 tonnes monthly demand for coal from the copper mines in the Copperbelt, making the company an essential cog in the nation’s development and economy.
However, as years rolled by, lack of recapitalisation and general neglect eroded the company’s value, sending the once vibrant mine spiralling into operational and financial distress, prompting the Government, through ZCCM-IH, to pursue privatisation.
The goal was to find a strategic partner to achieve normalcy in mining operations, contain environmental degradation, and set up a coal-fired power plant to augment the country’s energy security.
In 2010 Maamba Collieries Limited was privatised through a Joint Venture Partnership between Nava Bharat Singapore (NBS), the external investment wing of Nava Bharat Ventures Limited of India and ZCCM-IH – wherein, NBS acquired 65% ownership in MCL while ZCCM-IH retained 35% holdings. The Maamba project conceived at the time of privatisation remains a one-of-a-kind project in Zambia and one of the nation’s biggest Public Private Partnership infrastructure development projects.
Within a year of privatisation, mining operations recommenced and the company is the largest source of supply for domestic consumers of high-grade coal, including the cement manufacturing industry, construction industry as well as cooking oil, animal feed, lime and tobacco manufacturers. To meet the growing demand of coal in the country, the company in 2019 commissioned a surface miner, one of 12 such machines in the world – aimed at improving productivity while enhancing safety and reducing pollution.
Earlier, in 2012, the sponsors started construction of a modern, environment friendly, 300MW Thermal Power Plant – a huge value addition involving use of thermal-grade coal, which would otherwise self-combust and cause environmental pollution, as the fuel to generate much needed electricity.
Zambia’s first coal-fired thermal power plant was commissioned on 7th August 2016, by the sixth Republican President His Excellency Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, heralding a new era in the country’s energy sector.
The plant today accounts for about 10 percent of the country’s installed capacity making it one of Zambia’s largest Independent Power Producers, providing base load power enhancing energy security while leading the nation’s energy diversification drive.