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Infrastructure, energy supply continue to hamper DRC mining operations

8th February 2019

By: Jessica Oosthuizen

Creamer Media Reporter

     

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Infrastructure and energy supply issues continue to hamper mining and processing operations, as well as the broader economy, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), says international metals and minerals consultancy Roskill director Jack Bedder.

Despite the country having significant hydropower potential, the energy sector remains a major inhibitor to economic development and social inclusion, he tells Mining Weekly.
Power disruptions continue to impact on production and, according to estimates by the World Bank, less than 10% of the country’s population have access to power. The World Bank further estimates that power outages cost DRC firms an equivalent of 1.7% gross domestic product a year.

As of 2016, the country’s total installed electricity generation capacity was about 2 500 MW, with more than 95% derived from hydroelectricity, Bedder notes. He adds that hydrogeneration is in part supplemented by thirty thermal power stations, mainly in Kongo Central and the south of the country. However, these power facilities face ongoing challenges in trying to remain operational, owing to a lack of spare parts and recurrent shortages of gas and oil.

Bedder states that power issues remain problematic for the copper and cobalt sectors and broader economy, noting that the DRC’s Chamber of Mines estimated that the country needed an additional 950 MW as of 2015.

“The key solution is, of course, the development of the country’s hydro potential. Currently, less than 3% of the country’s potential is exploited and estimates put the DRC’s potential hydroelectricity generation at 100 000 MW.”

However, several power projects are in the pipeline, says Bedder. These include the Inga 3 hydroelectric project – with the first stage entailing the construction of a 4 800 MW installation.

Of particular relevance to the cobalt sector is the 240 MW Busanga hydroelectric plant, which is being built by consortium Sicomines, he advances. Sicomines will require 170 MW from the Busanga dam to run at full capacity, while the remaining 70 MW will feed the national grid.

“The completion of these projects and development of others are essential if the DRC intends to curb its reliance on imported energy,” he puts forward. In recent years, the copper and cobalt mines of the former Katanga province have relied on imports from Zambia, where droughts have reduced the availability of power, he adds.

Further, the DRC’s restrictive railway and road infrastructure continues to impact negatively on the country’s economic growth. With regard to the copper and cobalt sectors, border crossings continue to be difficult to pass, creating a backlog of supply, Bedder points out.

He notes that the World Bank is funding the improvement and upgrade of 1 200 km of DRC State-owned railway company Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer du Congo rail track on the sections between Kolwezi-Tenke and Sakania, at the border with Zambia, as well as between Kamina and Kabalo, and Kamina and Mwene Ditu. Other improvements may be realised through mine-for-infrastructure deals, he adds.

Meanwhile, the road network remains unreliable, with large sections in disrepair, while many roads are difficult to travel on during the rainy season. Through the road network, copper and cobalt can be exported through the southbound route from Kolwezi, in the south of the country, to Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal. To improve the route, the World Bank has provided $15-mil- lion to refurbish the 187 km of road between Lubumbashi and Kolwezi in recent years.

“There remains considerable opportunity to capitalise on the DRC’s almost unrivalled mineral wealth, but several pervasive challenges endure,” Bedder concludes.

Edited by Zandile Mavuso
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Features

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