Economics and expectations of renewables in mines – interview with African Gold Group ADRIENNE BAKER DIRECTOR Energy and Mines
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frican Gold Group CEO Danny Callow has discusses the drivers, economics and expectations of integrating renewables in to AFG’s gold mine in Mali
Energy and Mines: What are the key drivers for African Gold Group to move forward with a hybrid power plant for the Kobada Gold Project? Danny Callow: Mali has limited grid power and most mining projects rely on power generated from diesel or heavy fuel oil generator sets. This is not only costly, at around 25-30c/kWh but also environmentally damaging in terms of emissions. By harnessing the power of the sun, through a solar and battery power plant, allows us to potentially produce up to 35% of our power requirement through green energy, and reduce our carbon footprint substantially. In addition, the blended cost of power can be reduced to around 15c/kWh and this results in potential massive savings on fuel alone for the project. In our case, in the region of US$5 million per year. We do not profess to be energy experts and so we have teamed up with a service provider who builds, owns, operates
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ENERGY AND MINES MAGAZINE
