Gold miner Caledonia Mining Corporation has entered into a conditional agreement to sell the entire issued share capital of its Zimbabwe subsidiary Caledonia Mining Services (CMS), which owns and operates the 12.2 MW solar plant that supplies power to its Blanket mine, to CrossBoundary Energy (CBE) for $22.35-million in cash.

The electricity generated by the solar plant will continue to be sold to the Blanket mine under an exclusive power purchase agreement.

Caledonia invested $14.3-million on building the solar plant, which provides about a fifth of the Blanket mine's daily electricity requirement.

Since commissioning in February 2023, the solar plant has generated over 47 350 MWh of power. The power generated from the solar plant has significantly reduced the use of diesel generators and grid power at the mine.

“We are pleased to have signed this agreement to sell the solar plant which, upon completion, will enable us to redeploy capital to our core business of mining. While the sale will generate an immediate profit for the company, more importantly, we have identified an experienced partner in CBE which brings vast expertise in delivering and running renewable-energy projects.

“We look forward to developing a strong relationship with CBE – we are already working with them to deliver a meaningful extension to the plant, and we will be considering renewable-energy solutions at our other development projects in due course,” comments Caledonia CEO Mark Learmonth.

“CrossBoundary Energy’s mission is to provide affordable, clean power solutions to underserved markets, and we achieve this by deploying capital into energy projects that enable businesses to focus on their core operations. Our partnership with Caledonia demonstrates the efficacy of this model for the mining sector, benefiting the mine’s operations and ultimately enabling sustainable mining. We look forward to pursuing these acquisitions with miners across the continent,” adds CBE managing partner Matthew Tilleard.