Monument Jules Cornet in Mwadingusha

Confluent of the Lufupa and the Lualaba

Foundations of the power station, in Mwadingusha,

Excavations of the barage of Mwadingusha

During the first years of his/her/its existence, The Mining union, to supply his/her/its yards and his/her/its factories in electricity, had installed in his/her/its seats of small power stations walking to wood or coal pulverized. It was the case for the star of Congo, Kipushi, Luishia, Shinkolobwe, Kolwezi, Kambove, Kalabi, Busanga, etc...

Only the two big centers of Lubumbashi and Panda were endowed since the beginning of important thermal power stations that was even able to, when the case presented itself, to send the current to the neighboring facilities.

Nevertheless, since his/her/its foundation, the Mining union had realized that the electric energy production in big quantity and down price was primordial. It is why, in 1907 already, she/it had sent the two Switzerland Pfeiffers and Hofmanns to make an inventory of the hydroelectric resources of the Katanga.

The article 2, 1° of the convention-notebook of the loads that bind it to the Committee Special Katanga allow our society indeed to use the falls of water of the region by force for the production motor.

The war of 1914-1918 interrupted these works. However, since 1919, stations of gauging raised the debit of the Lualaba and the Lufira daily. Besides, some geological studies had demonstrated that the site of the falls Small horn, in Mwadingusha, could suit the establishment of a dam and a power station.

However the decision that the Mining union had taken toward 1924 to construct Shituru, close to Panda, a factory for the electrolytic copper production justified and imposed the creation of a hydroelectric power station that would permit, when the factory would be put in walk, to procure him the current necessary to a sufficiently low price.

He/it was decided therefore that a power station would be erected to the falls Small horn; but the Mining union, that already had quite a lot of problems to solve as she/it got involved in the way of electro-metallurgy, wanted to unload itself/themselves of the studies and the considerable work that the establishment of this hydroelectric factory would entail. This is how was born, in 1925, the General Society of the Hydroelectric Strengths of the Katanga,: SOGEFOR

The construction of the dam and the power station lasted five years more or less.

The business was not very dresser. Indeed no means of transportation joined the yard to the rail. One must make a road for the cars and a special railroad way, of 75-kilometer long, to bring the heavy pieces there. To this time didn't exist the trailers again behind tractors that carry loads of 50 tons currently and beyond. The electric shovels that pull without effort obvious several mothers cubes of only one movement land and deposit them mildly in the rocking skips of twenty tons could not be imagined that in dream. One was obliged on the contrary to have resort to a great deal of workers provided with peaks and shovels that filled to length of day of the barrows or small dump trucks.

Concurrement with the construction of the power station and the dam, the Sogefor received mission to establish the high-tension line that would join Mwaningusha in Shituru where the factory of electrolysis left earth.

When work was nearly finished, that means toward 1929, it was necessary to think about distributing the current not only to the Mining union, but in city. From there date of the creation of another subsidiary, the Sogelec, Society General African of electricity, who received concession of the government to assure the distribution of the current in the urban centers of Panda-Likasi, Elisabetvilles, and Kipushi to begin and later in the one of

Kolwezi.Extrait Extrait de la revue "Haut-Katanga" N° 39 - août 1957

Former powerhouse of Lubumbashi. To the before plan the turbofans.

The Falls Cornet

Excavations of the dam of Mwadingusha

The dam of Mwadingusha

The first line by force in 110.000 V Mwadingushas - Shituru