Two solar PV plants have been installed in gold mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mongolia to supply clean energy to their operations.
According to Mark Bristow, president and chief executive of Canadian mining company Barrick Gold Corporation, after the commissioning of a 16MW solar PV plant coupled with battery energy storage systems (BESS), it is expected that the mine’s overall renewable electricity supply will increase from 81% to 90%. Construction of the solar PV plant will commence in the first quarter of 2024. Both the solar PV plant and BESS will be operational in 2025.
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Moreover, for six months of the year, the gold mine’s electricity demand will be met entirely by renewable energy. Currently, much of the gold mine’s electricity is supplied by three hydropower stations.
According to Barrick Gold Corporation, the Kibali gold mine is located in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, about 220 kilometres east of the capital of the Haut Uele province, Isiro.
Aside from the gold mine in DRC, Canadian resource company Erdene Resource Development has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Mongolian Mining Corporation’s affiliate MCS International for the Bayan Khundii gold project in southwestern Mongolia.
Under the PPA, MCS International will build, own and operate a hybrid power station consisting of a 5MW solar PV plant, a 3MWh BESS, a 14.5MW diesel station and associated infrastructure under a take-or-pay arrangement.
Payments are expected to total US$44 million over the seven-year contract excluding the cost of diesel, which has been matched to the initial mine life for the Bayan Khundii gold project.
Erdene Resource Development said the PPA will provide an option for MCS International to supply power via an overhead transmission line, adding that connection to power through an overhead transmission line will provide access to lower incremental cost power for expansion opportunities and reduce diesel price risk for the project.
