Zimbabwe’s biggest miners seek $182m for solar projects
Some of Zimbabwe’s biggest miners are seeking $182-million to develop 200 MW of locally-generated solar power, according to the head of the renewables company responsible for the projects.
The agreement was signed between Grid Africa and the Intensive Energy User Group, whose members include Impala Platinum’s Zimbabwean unit, Tsingshan Holdings Group’s Afrochine Smelting and RioZim, among others.
“Talks with various funding partners, such as mining companies, banks, developmental financiers, and vendors like Power China and RIC Energy, are progressing,” Norman Moyo, co-founder and chief executive of Grid Africa said in an interview. “The financing structure will consist of about 70% debt and 30% equity.”
Zimbabwe faces an energy shortfall that often triggers the state-owned power company to implement rolling blackouts to balance supply and demand. The worst drought in four decades has compounded the crisis, cutting supplies from hydropower plants. Several miners rely on imported power from neighboring Mozambique to operate.
Zimbabwe boasts the second-largest platinum deposit and high-grade chromium ores in the world, and mining contributes about 12% to the country’s gross domestic product and makes up around 80% of its exports, according to the US International Trade Administration. Additional and cheaper electricity is likely to significantly increase the sector’s contribution to economic growth.
The first phase of the deal focuses on mining companies with ready-to-go projects that have the necessary licenses but lack financing, according to Moyo. “Large mines benefit from dedicated grid infrastructure, enabling them to source power flexibly. Transitioning to local solar generation will offer significant cost and foreign exchange savings compared to importing power,” he said.
Grid Africa emerged from Distributed Power Africa, initially linked to Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa.
Comments
Research Reports
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Goodwin Submersible Pumps Africa is sole distributors for Goodwin electrically driven, submersible, abrasion resistance slurry pumps.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Immersive Technologies is the world's largest, proven and tested supplier of simulator training solutions to the global resources industry.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
