UK-based Contango says plant at its Zimbabwe coal project now complete

By miningweekly.com

London-listed natural resources development company Contango Holdings reports that construction of the wash plant at its Lubu coking coal project, in Zimbabwe, has been completed ahead of commissioning and the production of coking coal.

The company said on March 28 that the refurbishment of the screen used to sort the coking coal prior to it being fed through the wash plant was also near completion and was expected to be delivered from Harare to site in early April, with installation immediately thereafter.

Power to the wash plant and other processing facilities will also be connected at the same time, which is expected to be mid-April. In preparation for this, the company will connect power to the laboratories this week to enable studies and training to begin.

Meanwhile, the concrete-lined recirculation and settlement ponds, along with the tailings control dam, have been built and are currently being lined with concrete prior to being used.

The company said it intended to undertake grade control drilling for about eight days in early April to help ensure the subsequent extraction and processing of the coking coal were optimised, following which, the Wirtgen surface miner would restart operations and extraction of coal.

“We have continued to make . . . progress at site as we prepare for imminent first coking coal production and sales. Next month, we intend to activate our wash plant and commence the processing of coal ahead of subsequent sales under our existing offtake agreements,” Contango CEO Carl Esprey said.