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Construction will commence in the first quarter of 2021, with first power expected in the third calendar quarter of 2021.

Pan African Resources is a gold producer operating a portfolio of South African operations with a production capacity of approximately 200,000 oz of gold per annum.

Part of the international juwi Group, juwi South Africa has been described as one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies. To date, juwi South Africa has built six utility scale solar plants totalling 207 MW under the South African Government's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme (REIPPP). The juwi Group, headquartered in Germany, and its international subsidiaries has completed over 1700 solar plants globally with a cumulative power of more than 3,000 megawatts.

The Evander Mines solar photovoltaic plant will utilise bi-facial module technology to maximise its yield and it will be constructed on previously disturbed land owned by Evander Mines. The Evander Mines solar photovoltaic plant will provide an estimated 30% of the Elikhulu Tailings Retreatment Plant's power requirement during daylight hours and is expected to materially reduce electricity costs at this operation. Furthermore, the Evander solar photovoltaic plant is expected to enhance the reliability of the power supply during daylight hours and result in an expected CO2 saving of more than 26,000 tons in its first year of its operation.

The total cost of the Evander solar photovoltaic plant is ZAR140 million (approx. US$9.55 million), with a calculated payback on this investment of less than 5 years. 

According to a press release issued by juwi, this solar photovoltaic plant further reduces Elikhulu’s environmental impact and is just one of a number of initiatives in the Pan African Resource Group’s commitment to producing high-margin ounces in a safe and efficient manner, while investing in local communities and minimising the environmental impact of operations. 

Pan African is also assessing the merits of expanding the Evander Mines solar photovoltaic plant in due course to provide for a clean energy feed to its Egoli Project, and of a similar solar photovoltaic plant at the Group’s Barberton Mines. 

“The Evander Mines solar photovoltaic plant is integral to the Group’s purpose of “Mining for a Future” and pursuing ESG initiatives that go beyond compliance. This plant will be one of the first of its kind in the South African mining space. We look forward to commissioning the operation during 2021, on budget and on schedule” said Cobus Loots, CEO of Pan African Resources. 

Photo: Aerial view of an open caste mine, Johannesburg, Gauteng / South Africa (Grant Duncan Smith | Dreamstime)

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