Renewables and Mining Summit and Exhibition

Over 30 African mining leaders have now confirmed their participation in this year’s Renewables and Mining Summit and Exhibition, taking place July 1-2 at the Hilton, Johannesburg. Senior representatives from Anglo American Platinum, Black Mountain Mining, De Beers, Exxarro, Sibanye Gold, Samancor Chrome, and Vedanta have recently joined as participants.

This year’s Africa Summit reflects the most pressing energy concerns of the mining sector, which has been facing severe power disruptions and price increases for both remote and grid-connected mines.

The Summit agenda showcases the latest case studies from mines assessing renewable energy options and addressing the challenges in developing and financing renewables projects for remote and grid-tied operations. Recent additions to the Summit agenda include senior representatives from IAMGOLD, Semafo, Gold Fields, the Carbon War Room, KfW DEG and the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

Mines attend to understand how renewable energy could address their pressing power needs for grid-tied and remote operations. Renewables and finance professionals attend to develop relationships and create business and project opportunities. For brochure or delegate details contact todd.reid@energyandmines.com or use the following links:

• Agenda
• Speakers
• Registration

Alternative mine energy choices driven by African power crisis

In a recently published article featuring interviews with Anglo American Platinum, Cronimet, Acacia, Shanta Mining, BR Energy, International Finance Corp., MCD International, and Primus Power, Energy and Mines’ spotlight on Africa looks at the increasing interest in renewables for addressing load shedding and diesel reliance and the challenges in making these projects bankable.

“This is a very big challenge for us,” says Gerhard van den Berg, principal engineer, energy, for Anglo American Platinum. “With Eskom having shortages and not being able to supply, we’ve run into what they call stage-two load curtailment.” The power crises in African countries is drastically hampering mine production and is prompting serious interest from the mining sector in self-generation and renewable power.

• Download the article here.

The game-changing impact of renewable energy for mines

NRG Renew has published a whitepaper on the benefits of solar energy as an independent energy source for the mining industry. As the whitepaper reports: “[In South Africa], for example, a solar solution’s ability to provide an independent source of power has heightened relevance, especially in the country’s mining industry, where remote locations are the norm. Quickly, local mining companies are embracing renewable’s off-grid approach, one that helps reduce diesel-generating costs while also delivering environmental protection credits.”

• Download the whitepaper here.

How does the recent drop in oil price impact the mining sectors’ appetite for renewable energy?

In a recently published article Energy and Mines examines the impact of cheaper oil on the appetite for renewables with insights from CEOs and senior executives from Anglo American, IAMGOLD, Terango Gold, and Advanced Explorations. The effects of lower oil prices is dramatically different for grid-tied and remote mining operations. In addition, the life-of-mine is a key consideration for mining CEOs looking at renewables options with the lull in commodity pricing proving a stronger driver for near-term energy decisions than oil prices.

• Download the article here.

More info:

• South Africa’s power crisis forces small businesses to seek energy alternatives