UPDATE:Zambia's KCM Installs 24MW Emergency Power Plants -Company

Zambia's Konkola Copper Mines said Wednesday that it has installed three emergency thermal power plants with the capacity to generate 24 megawatts of power at its Konkola deep mine project, in a bid to guarantee reliable power supplies at the unit amid a looming power shortage in the country.

The three generators have been installed by Finland-based Wartsila Oyi (WRT1V.HE), each with the capacity of 8 MW, a company spokesman said in a statement.

"The generators...will provide back-up power in case of failure of power supply from the national grid," said Shapi Shachinda, the company's communications manager.

The power plants, coupled with existing 30MW gas turbine capacity, are expected to provide enough power to operate pumps used to drain uncontrolled water from the Konkola deep mine project in case of total power failure from the grid, Shachinda added.

The existing 30 MW gas power plants are owned by Copperbelt Energy Corp. the main supplier of power to Zambia's mining companies. KCM, a unit of London-listed Vedanta Resources PLC (VED.LN) is putting final touches on the sinking of a major underground shaft that is expected to more than triple the company's annual copper ore output by 2012.

The shaft is being sunk at an underground mine, which is very wet and any power outage results in flooding, hampering mining operations, company officials say. In 2008, a power outage trapped hundreds of miners at KCM's underground mine for several hours, the state power utility was compelled to emergency import power from Congo to facilitate the evacuation.

KCM is expected to sink the shaft to the targeted depth of 1,500 meters by the end of this month. The shaft is poised to increase the company's annual ore production to 7.5 million metric tons, from the current 2 million tons.

According to Shachinda, KCM has invested more than $2 billion in new projects, expansions and upgrades of its assets in the last six years in efforts aimed at raising production and extending mine life.

-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; 256-75-2624615 [e-mail]