By MILDRED KATONGO –
OPERATIONS at the Nchanga Underground Mine on the Copperbelt have been paralysed following the theft of nine high-voltage electricity cables by unknown people in Chingola.
This is the second incident in a fortnight, following the theft of 200 metres of high voltage cabling, which was cut and stolen at the tailings leach plant.
Konkola Copper Mine (KCM) public relations and communication manger
Shapi Shachinda said unknown criminals cut and stole the nine high voltage electricity cables at their Nchanga underground mine causing disruption to operations.
Mr Shachinda said in a statement that this caused the ventilation shaft, which sucks air from the underground, to stop functioning.
He said as a result of this incident, KCM had been forced to stop operations to ensure the safety of the 991 workforce at that particular operation.
“KCM regrets to inform the nation that unknown criminals have cut high voltage electricity cables at the Nchanga underground mine (NUG) in
Chingola, causing disruption to operations at the mine. A check later revealed that at least 9 high voltage copper cables at the 11 Kilovolts sub-station has been cut off and stolen,” he said.
Mr Shachinda said the incident occurred between midnight and 01:00am on Tuesday, July 25 when employees on the night shift experienced a sudden power outage at the Ventilation shaft.
He said the mining company was working to ensure they resume operations as soon as possible.
Mr Shachinda said an internal investigation was underway to aid separate investigations by the police.