The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
CALEDONIA Mining Corporation Plc, which owns Blanket Mine in Gwanda, says it will commission its 12 megawatt (MW) solar power plant at the mine early next year.
In its 2020 inaugural Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report for the Gwanda-based gold producer, released on Wednesday, about US$14 million has been budgeted for the project, which will exclusively supply electricity to the gold mining operation.
“Blanket Mine will continue to rely on the grid and generators to provide additional power during daylight hours and at night. The solar plant is expected to be operational in early 2022,” said the report.
Caledonia has been pursuing the project since 2019 and the plan is to help Blanket Mine address crippling power shortages that frequently disrupt production.
Several mines have also complained about the blackouts, with some resorting to direct power imports.
Part of the report read that battery power was currently too expensive to justify its use to augment the solar plant, but the company will continue to monitor this situation as battery technology develops.
“The company will also evaluate a further phase for the solar project to provide Blanket’s peak demand during daylight hours, but this will require an agreement between the company and the Zimbabwe authorities regarding the treatment of power that will be generated by a second phase that is surplus to Blanket’s requirements,” it said.
Caledonia has contracted Voltalia, an international renewable energy specialist, to construct the facility and construction is expected to cost approximately US$12 million, with an additional US$2 million for expenses which include designs, tender process, obtaining licences and site clearance.
The report said the plant is expected to provide all of Blanket’s minimum electricity demands during daylight hours and approximately 27 percent of its total electricity requirement thereafter.
“Climate change is one of the biggest global challenges we face. 19 percent of our on-mine costs relate to energy usage and, therefore, any reductions in the cost have both environmental benefits as well as clear financial advantages,” read part of the report.
It noted that load-shedding and outages arising from unstable supply have economic and safety implications for an underground mine such as Blanket and they have, therefore, installed 18MVA of standby diesel generators to enable uninterrupted mining and processing operations, as well as work for capital projects to continue during any disruptions to the grid supply.
“However, we recognise that this is not a long-term solution: diesel-generated electricity is expensive and subject to an unpredictable supply of diesel, as well as being environmentally unsustainable,” said the report.
