Caledonia’s solar plant cuts on gold miner’s diese...

Caledonia’s solar plant cuts on gold miner’s diesel usage

Zim Now Writer

Gold miner Caledonia Mining Corporation has said its diesel consumption has been slashed following the installation of a solar power generator at its Blanket Mine near Gwanda in Matabeleland South Province.

The 12 MWac solar plant, which was connected to the Blanket Mine electrical grid in November 2022, is generating more power than had been anticipated earlier.

The plant currently supplies about 27 percent of Blanket Mine’s average daily electricity demand.

Caledonia also remarked that supplies from the national grid had improved significantly, helping to further reduce the amount of diesel consumed as well as the number of production interruptions.

Caledonia chief executive, Mark Learmonth said as an initial early-stage indicator of the lower consumption in January 2023 Blanket used 18 000 litres of diesel as compared to about 120 000 litres per month on average during 2022.

“Whilst we can’t be certain that this quantum of improvement will be fully maintained as the year progresses, we are confident that we will continue to see an ongoing meaningful reduction to our diesel usage month on month, fully justifying our investment in solar power and delivering on our ESG strategy,” Learmonth said.