369
On July 28, 2026, Sinomine Kitumba Minerals Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Kitumba Minerals”) achieved significant progress in project construction. The company's 38-kilometer water supply pipeline was successfully commissioned with water flowing through the entire system, and the coarse crushing plant successfully completed its commissioning test with material feed on the first attempt. These milestones indicate that Kitumba Minerals' key production support facilities and front-end crushing system have reached operational readiness, marking the project's transition into the final phase of construction and commissioning.
The water supply project, with a total pipeline length of 38 kilometers and equipped with two pumping stations, draws water from the Kafue River and serves as a critical supporting facility for the process water supply of the mining and metallurgical plant. During construction, the project team overcame a range of challenges, including swampy soft ground conditions, restricted work environments, and difficulties in mobilizing large-scale equipment. Through strict quality control over pipeline welding, scientific coordination of key procedures such as trench excavation, pressure testing, and pumping station commissioning, the team successfully achieved full pipeline connectivity and stable operation of the pumping stations.
During the material-fed commissioning of the coarse crushing plant, the project team strictly followed the principle of “single-machine commissioning before linkage operation, and no-load testing before material feeding.” Preparatory work was completed in stages, including individual equipment trial runs, pipeline flushing, electrical and instrumentation calibration, and interlocking protection system testing.
Following the official start of commissioning, key equipment including the apron feeder, crusher, and belt conveyors started up sequentially and operated in coordination. The raw ore crushing process proceeded smoothly, material transportation remained stable, and the central control system continuously monitored operational parameters throughout the process. After several hours of continuous load testing, the equipment demonstrated stable performance, smooth process flow, and accurate control system response, with all key indicators meeting design requirements.
The successful completion of the water supply project and the coarse crushing plant commissioning represent major milestones in the construction of the Kitumba project. These achievements not only verified the reliability of the project's infrastructure and the stability of its core production systems, but also demonstrated the effectiveness of standardized and refined project management practices.
With strong momentum and determination, all project personnel at Kitumba Minerals will take these two milestone achievements as a new starting point and accelerate subsequent activities, including metallurgical plant equipment installation, system integration and commissioning, and production preparation. The team will maintain strict control over safety, quality, and schedule management to ensure the project is commissioned on time and achieves production benefits as early as possible.
