2merkato

The National Mining Corporation announced that it has 128 tons of gold ready to be mined in Ethiopia. The Gold is to be found at the Okote project operated by National Mining.

It is expected that the reserve will translate into a significant mine with little exploitative work and an appropriate definitive feasibility study claimed the corporation in the statement it released.

The overall reserves of the Okote concession to be found in Oromia Regional state are estimated to total 454 tons of Gold elaborated the statement. The site could potentially produce about 10 tons annually effectively doubling the gold output of Ethiopia explained a statement from National last March.

The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation, Ethiopia’s sole electric provider, is revising its power sector master plan for the next twenty five years taking in to consideration its aim to generate 37,000 MW in the coming quarter of a century.

The adjustment to the master plan established earlier was necessitated because of the growth in the power sector and the need to reassess the the previous baseline to take into consideration new power requirements said Mihiret Debebe, Chief Executive Officer of EEPCo.

The new 25 year master plan is expected to be unveiled in the first half of the next financial year according to Mihiret. The new plan aims to generate 37,000 MW by the end of the period and will establish financial sources for the high costs anticipated in implementing power projects.

Ethiopia suspended tantalum mining and exports until the country acquires the capability to refine the mineral in a bid to earn more revenues from exports. The decision means that Ethiopia will not export tantalum until the nation has an operating processing plant said Tamrat Modjo, Head of the Traditional Mining Department of the Ministry of Mines.

The government wants to retain enough reserves for when the plant is operational while exploration is underway for more reserves in other parts of the country he said.

It is expected that the processing plant will require an investment of 500 million birr. The government aims to start exporting 1,000 tons a year for the 15 years that the national reserves are expected to last said Tamrat. 

The power generation capacity of Ethiopia has reached 2,140 MW according to the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation. It is to be remembered that the power generated in the country was just 370 MW two decades ago.

The national electricity coverage has grown to 47% from only 8% in the early nineties said Miheret Debebe, Chief Executive Officer with the EEPCo.

The per capital energy consumption twenty years ago was below 20KW at the household level but has grown to 100KW now he said.