JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – As part of its cost-reduction and drive to manage its carbon footprint, the Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine is to install a 24 MW off-grid solar hybrid plant to support its existing 63 MW thermal power station, by harnessing Mali’s abundant solar resource.

The 24 MW off-grid solar plant has the potential of saving ten-million litres of fuel a year while reducing Loulo’s annual carbon emissions by 42 000 t.

This renewable energy project is part of the strategy of Barrick Gold, now being led vigorously by former Randgold Resources CEO Dr Mark Bristow, to move away from thermal power in Africa, where lack of infrastructure means that many mines need to rely on self-generated diesel energy, making this their largest cost item.

Utilising hydropower in the Democratic Republic of Congo, grid power in Côte d’Ivoire and heavy-fuel baseload generators in Mali, Barrick has already cut its energy costs significantly, the company says in a release to Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly Online.

The company believes that the ushering in of renewable energy sources will ensure that its future needs are met in the most cost-efficient and environment-friendly manner.

The solar feasibility study forecasts that the photovoltaic plant will replace 50 000 MWh/y of thermal generation. The introduction of the solar component will cut the complex’s energy cost by an estimated 2c/kWh.

Construction of the project—which meets Barrick’s investment criteria of 20% internal rate of return—will start later this year, for commissioning in late 2020.

The plant will use the latest weather prediction models, which will enable the power management system to switch between thermal and solar without compromising the microgrid.