ENERGY
GOLD FIELDS GOES GREEN By Nelendhre Moodley
G
old Fields recently received approval for the construction of a 40MW solar power plant at its South Deep mine. SA Mining caught up with the gold miner’s executive vice president: South Africa, Martin Preece, to chat about the company’s energy strategy and its focus on renewables.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES GOLD FIELDS FACES IN TERMS OF ENERGY, AND HOW IS THIS AFFECTING BUSINESS?
In South Africa, unreliable and unaffordable supply from the national utility Eskom poses a major risk for all mining companies. This not only impacts on costs and erodes margins, but also has an opportunity cost implication as a result of the inability to operate due to load curtailment.
WHAT IS GOLD FIELDS’ ENERGY STRATEGY GOING FORWARD?
Gold Fields’ energy objectives are based on four pillars that promote a shift to selfgeneration using renewable energy sources. Energy must be available, reliable, costeffective and clean. During 2020, renewable electricity made up 3% of the Gold Fields Group’s electricity consumption. Once the South Deep solar project is commissioned, renewable’s contribution to the group’s total consumption will rise to around 11%. Also last year, Gold Fields successfully implemented solar and wind renewable projects, backed by battery storage, at two of its Australian mines, Agnew and Granny Smith. It’s also committed to renewables at its other Australian mines, Gruyere and St
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Ives, and the new Salares Norte project in Chile when it starts operations in 2023. All its other mines are reviewing renewable energy options.
HOW DOES THIS ENERGY STRATEGY INFLUENCE BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND ALIGN IN TERMS OF LOWERING GOLD FIELDS’ CARBON FOOTPRINT? After salaries and wages, energy is generally the second biggest cost item for our mines, accounting for between 10% and 20% of operating costs. As such, it is critical that our energy strategy not only ensures security of supply but also cost-effective energy supply. As important is our focus on reducing our carbon emissions and meeting commitments we have made in this regard. Our approach is not only good for the environment, but makes business sense too. The biggest contributors to carbon emissions are the electricity we purchase from outside suppliers and the diesel consumed by our fleet of mining vehicles and machinery. Replacing coal-, diesel- and ultimately gaspowered electricity with renewable sources makes a direct contribution to lowering our carbon emissions. Renewables have the added benefit of being
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largely on-site with many of our renewable sources directly supplying our mines without requiring an extensive grid network. As for replacing our diesel-powered fleet, that will take time. And while we are trialling battery electric vehicles, this is still at an early stage and not viable yet. Over time though, we envisage that our fleet won’t be powered by diesel but rather by electric batteries and potentially hydrogen fuel cells.
DESCRIBE THE ROLE THAT RENEWABLES WILL BE PLAYING IN POWERING GOLD FIELDS’ PROJECTS, ESPECIALLY IN AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA, AS WELL AS GLOBALLY. In 2020 renewables accounted for only 3% of our energy mix, 11% if hydro was included, as our Peruvian mine receives power from a utility that uses mostly hydro power. This year the percentage will start rising as our Granny Smith and Agnew mines in Australia will have a full year of supply from their micro-grids. Agnew on average is already consuming 57% of its electricity from renewable sources. As the solar plant at South Deep comes on stream in 2022, renewables (excluding hydro) will account for 11%. Gruyere in Australia and Salares Norte in Chile, when it becomes
