The Colliery's expansion will see it tap into previously unexploited resources to ramp up production from about one million tonnes per annum to 3.8 million tonnes, which will also result in expanded surface facilities. Adjacent to the mine, the Botswana Power Corporation has accelerated the Morupule B Power Station project which involves the installation of 4 x 150 megawatt (MW) units from the existing 132 MW capacity. With the BPC hoping to commission the expanded power station by 2011, Debswana is anxious to speed up the expansion of the colliery to support the increased coal requirements.
Further highlighting the urgent need to speed up the colliery's expansion, the Procurement and Engineering contractor for the power station's expansion recently started work on the contract following the release of P5 billion by Standard Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). For its part, Morupule Colliery is currently considering several financing options for the expansion project.
