By MAIMBOLWA MULIKELELA –

UNIVERSAL Mining and Chemical Industries Limited (UMCIL) will invest about US$250 million in the construction of an 80-kilometre railway line from Mumbwa to Kafue District in Lusaka.
The railway line – which will be used to ferry iron ore from Mumbwa to Kafue – is expected to come on stream by 2019 and will be essential in addressing transport infrastructure bottlenecks for the company.
UMCIL, which is part of the Trade Kings Group of Companies, is currently developing two iron ore mines in Nampundwe and Mumbwa.
Trade Kings Group civil engineer Ernest Mande said his organisation would invest about $250 million to construct a railway line from Nambala in Mumbwa to Kafue aimed at transporting iron ore from Nambala mine to Kafue steel plant for processing.
“The railway line will cost $250 million and this is part of the investment in the development of the Nambala mine. You must understand that the investment forms part of the mining infrastructure for transporting the ore from the mine to Kafue,” he said.
He said this in an interview in Kafue.
UMCIL is developing the Sanje Hill at a cost of US$10 million and Nambala Sonkwe deposit iron ore projects in Nampundwe and Mumbwa respectively, which form part of the integrated iron ore and steel project.
Mr Mande said plans for the development of the railway line had reached an advanced stage and that the railway line was expected to come on stream by 2019.
He said the company was expected to start moving the iron ore by railway by 2020.
“As we are going to commission the Sanje Hill project next month we are also aiming to work on a railway line for the purpose of carrying iron ore from Nambala in Mumbwa to transport almost 1.4 million tonnes of ore.
“If we had to use the road just imagine the impact and harm it will cause to our road,” Mr Mande said.
He said the railway line would pass through certain development areas to be advised by the Government.
“It has reached an advanced stage and we are talking to various stakeholders and financers. The railway line will run from Mumbwa to Kafue but if you are doing the railway line you do it with the public service which is the Government requirement,” he said.
UMCIL runs a steel plant in Kafue with a production capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year.