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On July 28, 2026, Sinomine Kitumba Minerals Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Kitumba Mining") reached key construction milestones in Zambia. The Company's 38-kilometer raw water intake pipeline was successfully commissioned, and the primary crushing plant passed its first load commissioning on the first attempt — collectively marking that the project's core production support facilities and front-end crushing systems are now ready for operation, with project construction officially entering its final sprint.
The water intake project, with a total kilometers length of 38 kilometers, draws raw water from the Kafue River and serves as a critical supporting facility for the processing and smelting plant. The system is supported by two pump stations. Despite challenging ground conditions — including swampy soft soil, confined working areas and difficult access for large equipment — the project team maintained strict quality control over pipeline welding, organized pipeline trenching, pressure testing and pump station commissioning with rigor, and ultimately achieved full pipeline connection and stable pump station operation.
In the primary crushing plant load commissioning, the project team followed a rigorous sequence: first single-machine trial runs, then integrated trials; first no-load, then with material. After completing equipment trial rotations, pipeline purging, electrical and instrument calibration, and interlock protection commissioning, the apron feeder, crusher and conveyor belts were started in sequence and operated in coordination. Run-of-mine ore was crushed smoothly, transferred steadily along the conveyor belts, and monitored end-to-end by the central control system. After several hours of continuous load verification, all equipment ran stably, the process flow was unobstructed, the control system responded accurately, and all performance indicators met design specifications.
The successful commissioning of the water intake pipeline and the primary crushing plant marks an important project milestone — validating the reliability of the supporting infrastructure and the stability of the main process systems, and underscoring the tangible results of the project's standardized and refined management practices.
Looking ahead, the entire Kitumba Mining construction team will treat this dual-milestone success as a springboard to push forward with the remaining smelter equipment installation, system integration and production preparation. The team is committed to strict controls on safety, quality and schedule to ensure the project is commissioned on time and reaches design capacity as soon as possible.
