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Any just transition, particularly in Africa and South Africa, needs to be job centered, says World Coal Association CEO Michelle Manook.

Speaking at the Just Transition & The Future of Coal in Africa panel at the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2022, held this week, she noted that coal-fired power plants employed 113 000 people directly in South Africa alone, with the sector supporting another 340 000 indirect and induced jobs.

Manook said that any just transition to clean energy had to consider the impact on communities and their future. This was especially true as more than 90% of jobs in the renewables sector were temporary.

These numbers signalled a warning not to rush through a transition without weighing local costs and benefits.

Manook added that it was necessary to rethink the assumptions held around fossil fuels – especially its importance to emerging markets and developing economies.

“There is no one silver bullet to realise climate ambitions, and no one perfect pathway for all of us to reach our destination.

“We recognise that more action is required from the [coal] industry itself . . . coal can abate 99% of its pollutants with commercial technology that exists today. We clearly need to do our job better to educate people.

“While some believe [coal’s future] is nonexistent, I believe it is one that is strategic, coordinated, needs to be inclusive and, obviously, responsible.”

Manook said the dialogue between the coal industry and those supporting renewable energy had become exceedingly binary.

“We’re all on the same side. We need an agnostic approach. We need the debate to be agnostic.”

Coal miner Exxaro Resources CEO-designate Dr Nombasa Tsengwa noted that the meaning of a just transition “is to leave no-one behind”.

Council for Geoscience CEO Mosa Mabuza echoed this sentiment.

He said that any just transition must be looked at through the prism of the “poorest of the poor in society”.

He said South Africa had committed to a lower-carbon future on the global stage, but that the country had to find “the appropriate means” to transition from a high- to low-carbon trajectory.

Mabuza believed society needed to have a dialogue on whether this necessarily meant “no coal”.

Minerals Council South Africa Environment, Health and Legacies senior executive Nikisi Lesufi added that it was important that pragmatism prevailed in a just transition, and that South Africa should not compromise its energy, or job security, in moving to a lower-carbon economy.

While the Mining Industry Association of Southern Africa (Miasa) supports the just transition to clean energy, the region must ensure it is pragmatic in its approach, says newly elected president Sokwani Chilembo.

Chilembo is also the CEO of the Zambia Chamber of Mines.

Speaking at an Investing in African Mining Indaba media conference on Wednesday, Chilembo noted that there was a need to ensure the protection of communities’ livelihoods, and that the upscaling of renewable energy had to be “pragmatic” and “carefully considered”.

“We must not leave any of our regional citizens behind.”

Chilembo said the region had recently seen a “very hard stop approach” from the world in its consideration of coal and gas projects – this during a time when Southern Africa’s endowment of the latter was growing.

“This is concerning to us. Access to energy is a key component in improving the quality of live of our citizens. In the absence of energy, people may do what they can, leading to deforestation.

“It is really important that, as a region, we do not lose out on the opportunity to lift enough people out of poverty to a reasonable standard of living, and then become more custodial in our way of thinking.”

Hydrocarbons had to continue to be a key component of energy resilience in the region, emphasised Chilembo.

“As you know, when one area in the region is affected, the Southern African power pool is affected. If we pull a hard stop now, the consequences will be felt across the entire region.”

Chilembo noted that another area of concern for Miasa was persistent allegations around illegal financial flows from, and within the mining industry, and the participation of the corporate mining sector – to the detriment of casting a spotlight on “outright illegal mining”.

“Illegal mining is growing in scale in the region. We are not paying enough attention to this, in preference for the easier story to sell, which is that of persistent corporate malfeasance.”

A third and final concern Chilembo raised was around the recently released Fraser Institute’s Annual Survey of Mining Companies.

This investment attractiveness index “really gave Africa the short end of the stick”, he said, with several African jurisdictions dropping in the ranking, and Morocco, out of left field, popping to almost the top.

Zimbabwe – in Southern Africa – was at the bottom.

Chilembo said Miasa acknowledged the report, but believed that it should be more geographically spread, so that countries which had remained steadfast in their policies were not affected negatively.

He said the report could benefit from being more interactive, cooperative and inclusive, especially as its stature, value and efficacy were highly valued by the mining industry.

Members of Minerals Council South Africa have agreed to commit to a climate change response strategy that will reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 or earlier.

Minerals Council South Africa senior health and environment executive Nikisi Lesufi on Tuesday briefed the media on the Mineral Council’s dual approach to energy, explaining that it is a common but differentiated approach.

“There are those who are leaders and those who are laggards and our responsibility as a Minerals Council is to assist those who are behind the curve to be able to be at the same pace as those who are able to lead us faster into the just energy transition space,” Lesufi told journalists at the Investing in African Mining Indaba being covered by Mining Weekly.

“We also commit that they will implement mitigation into their businesses and mining operations and support the integration of climate solutions into internal management practices,” he said of Minerals Council members who include coal-mining members.

"They also commit to collaborate with business and supply chain partners to support a reduction of Scope 3 emissions and adoption of climate resilient management approaches.

“We also encourage and commit them to continuously improve the transparency of their public reporting so that they can be held accountable for the commitments that they have made,” Lesufi added.

Regarding the contribution to just energy transmission efforts, the Minerals Council has committed itself to expand on its mine project strategies because from a just energy perspective, mine closure is always related to the creation of new economies post-mining.

The just energy transition involves fast-tracking the preparedness for the closure of mines but also ensuring that employees and communities are not left behind. Economic succession plans to replace those mine opportunities as they faded out over time would thus have to be developed.

There are five key areas in which the Minerals Council believes that the mining industry will make a difference.

The first is in the technology space, where it believes that the development and adoption of leading technologies for greenhouse gas emission reduction and climate change succession in mining operations will facilitate South Africa’s transition to a low carbon future.

The second is its belief in policy development, where it is supportive of policy regulatory research and an investment environment that enables the mining sectors’ climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.

Third is the development and growth of key commodity pools for a low-carbon future and encouraging globally competitive exploration, extraction and processing of minerals of the future.

Fourthly, the Minerals Council supports the accountability measures of improving reporting and disclosure mechanisms, and finally also the development, collaboration, and partnerships with others so that communities and other stakeholders are not left behind.

South Africa’s first hydrogen corridor now under development has the potential to generate a minimum of 14 000 jobs, $400-million in gross domestic product and $900-million in taxes a year by 2050.

In an addition, there is potential to grow platinum group metal (PGM) demand by between 1% to 2% within the valley.

“That touches on some of the aspects why we as Anglo are interested in hydrogen and see it perfectly aligned with our purpose of reimaging mining to improve people’s lives,” said Anglo American market development principal Fahmida Smith during a media briefing at the Investing in African Mining Indaba covered by Mining Weekly.

Emphasising that the hydrogen economy is being advanced to mitigate against climate change, Minerals Council South Africa CEO Roger Baxter told journalists: “We are sitting here with climate change being probably the single biggest risk that we are facing from the company and country-level perspective and clearly if we do nothing, the results of climate change will end up being catastrophic at a particular point. We all accept the science of climate change and the need for the just energy transition.”

The green hydrogen needed is produced by electrolysis using renewable energy sources and the process splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. It doesn’t have any greenhouse gas emissions.

While at the moment green hydrogen is still costing between $5/kg and $6/kg and grey hydrogen from coal between $1.50/kg and $2/kg, it is contended that economies of scale and cost focus would bring them down to a much lower level.

Why is South Africa so ideal for green hydrogen?

“We think that South Africa will become a global player in the game of green hydrogen. The reason for thinking that is first of all we rank in the top ten sunniest countries in the world, making us very well placed to produce renewable energy from photovoltaics and from wind,” said Baxter.

South Africa has a significant resource and reserve base of PGMs, which are used in fuel cell technology and based on this country’s experience in using the Fischer-Tropsch technology through Sasol, we possess the know-how.

Already if you look at it on a grey hydrogen basis, South Africa, through Sasol, already produces 2% of global grey hydrogen.

In countries such as Germany, Japan, South Korea and others, the level of solar radiation is considerably lower than what South Africa has, which gives the country a comparative advantage in the production of green energy, which can be theoretically translated into the production of green hydrogen.

“We also possess in the mining sector large volumes of water on mine sites at, for example, Kumba Iron Ore in the Northern Cape, and at gold and platinum operations,” said Baxter.

“We have access to sufficient water required to do the hydrolysing and we are working hard on the process because the benefits could be quite substantial.”

In fact, the Minerals Council commissioned a consulting company, Singular, to do some detailed work which pointed to South Africa’s green hydrogen economy sector potentially being 25 times bigger than this country’s iron-ore mining industry by 2050.

Going through the just energy transition and reducing carbon intensity in production were all cited as being critically important components of the hydrogen economy, which would bring a big market for PGMs.

“So, it’s really a big area of focus. It has a huge job creation potential as well as significant economic potential from a country-level perspective.

“We estimate that the green hydrogen economy in South Africa could generate something like 20 000 to 40 000 extra jobs as we go forward,” said Baxter.

A number of other countries have already embarked on green hydrogen strategies. Australia already has offtake agreements for green hydrogen with South Korea and Japan, as well as a hydrogen road map and a hydrogen strategy in place.

South Africa has the Hydrogen Societal Road Map, which Minerals Council South Africa participated in developing...

A mining cadastral system is the most critical part of the puzzle to ensure the re-emergence of exploration in South Africa, says Minerals Council South Africa public affairs and transformation senior executive Tebello Chabana.

The country currently attracts less than 1% of global exploration spend.

A working cadastral system will act as a management tool that will provide transparency within the industry, while it will also allow access to South Africa’s resources, notes Chabana.

“It must be a simple, tried and tested system. We don’t need a bespoke system. People have been there, done that. They know what works. It is a matter of taking something that works, adopting it to our circumstances and using it. That is really the core.”

Unfortunately, notes Chabana, there is currently no time frame for when South Africa’s cadastral system will be up and running.

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe told delegates at the 2022 PGMs Industry Day on April 6, that the roll-out of an online central cadastral system – which the mining and exploration industry has been begging for for over a decade – was one of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy's “biggest nightmares”.

He blamed the ongoing lack of implementation of a mineral rights cadastre on the sluggishness of the legal system.

South Africa’s mineral rights are currently managed through the South African Mineral Resources Administration System (Samrad), which has been called dysfunctional and has been blamed for discouraging investment in South Africa’s mining industry and encouraging corruption owing to its opacity.

A cadastral system would reduce human inputs by incorporating automated processes, thereby significantly enhancing the reliability and transparency of the mineral regulatory system in South Africa.

By creating a system that applies to the entire mining life cycle, mining cadastres provide a tool by which governments may regulate the industry effectively, as well as monitor and regulate it through checks, balances and automated record keeping.

Several other African countries, including Botswana and Mozambique, have already implemented cadastral systems for managing mineral rights.

A cadastral system would log all properties in the country, specifying who is permitted where, for which commodity, where a right’s borders are and the expiry date of those rights. A minerals cadastre would list available mining or prospecting rights, properties currently under a mining or prospecting right and the expiry of currently held rights and ownership thereof.

However, what pundits have said would make minerals cadastres particularly useful for the mining industry, particularly the junior mining and prospecting sector, is that they would also contain all historical prospecting data generated by previous exploration parties.

The energy transition currently under way presents a fresh opportunity for South Africa to build a clean and inclusive energy ecosystem that can create new and significant economic opportunities for the African continent.

This continent, with its vast natural reserves of abundant sun and wind, provides an unmissable opportunity to both decarbonise and create significant new economic sectors – and Anglo American is committed to play its role in making that opportunity a reality.

Such shifts need all in the private and the public sectors to think outside the traditional model, with the opportunity for mining and other industries to pool its expertise with government to build greater capacity and resilience in the public sector.

In March, Anglo American announced a partnership with EDF Renewables – a global leader in renewable energy – to work with government towards developing a regional renewable energy ecosystem in South Africa to provide between 3 GW and 5 GW of renewable generation capacity.

This ecosystem involves the construction of on-site photovoltaic solar plants and off-site wind farms for green hydrogen production.

The energy ecosystem will generate a wide range of new economic opportunities to ensure that the value created is shared inclusively.

The collaborative regional development – or CRD – fosters economic activity beyond mining by creating community economics that endure well beyond the life of the mine through the so-called Impact Catalyst, with the Industrial Development Corporation as a financial partner, alongside government, nongovernmental organisations and other businesses, including Exxaro.

Partnership with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has laid the foundation for an adaptive approach in working together to improve service delivery and ultimately contribute to improved quality of life of communities, where millions of people will experience the effects of the energy transition.

The programme is helping address inter-related challenges across nine municipalities in South Africa, including the impact of climate change, food security, the creation of sustainable livelihoods and jobs, and the financial stability of municipalities. Holistic thought is being given to what the ‘just transition’ could bring for millions of people in this region.

These and many more profound points were driven home impressively by new Anglo American CE Duncan Wanblad in his far-reaching keynote address to the Investing in African Mining Indaba on Monday.

He also spoke of:

mining not just being a ‘part’ or a ‘cog’ of the future of the global economy and the planet but its very bedrock;

the planet being a silent but most delicate stakeholder;

mining needing to go about satisfying the demand for metals and minerals in harmony with the needs of society and the natural environment while creating and sharing enduring value in an inclusive way for all stakeholders;

mining providing the feedstocks necessary for zero-carbon decarbonisation in the cleanest and most socially responsible way possible; and

a 2 oC climate pathway – and not even the 1.5 oC pathway envisaged by the Paris agreement – requiring investment of $2-trillion in capital over the next 15 years to bring to market the green metals and minerals that are abundant in many parts of this continent.

“The last two years of pandemic-related disruption has certainly tested all sectors of society, but I am very proud of how our industry responded in terms of our broad social role in so many communities around our operations all over the world,” said Wanblad.

“Never before has there been such an obvious and urgent demand for what we do and, more specifically, what we make possible.

“Just try and imagine a world without airplanes, vehicles, and mobile phones – all of which are manufactured from mined materials.

“The mining industry, as the foundation for industrial development and growth, must continue to transform itself at pace to achieve this ...

South Africa has a significant implementation crisis. A number of government departments and parastatals were hollowed out. Capacity is a significant issue in almost every parastatal – water authorities, Eskom, Transnet and across the board.

“We’re not rushing into takeover activities because government doesn’t want us to. We’ve been working with government to open the space for greater private sector participation, particularly in energy and increasingly in rail,” Minerals Council South Africa CEO Roger Baxter stated during a media briefing at the Investing in African Mining Indaba on Monday.

“In our view private sector participation is going to be the thing that changes the game for South Africa going forward because we’re not convinced that the existing model is going to solve the issue,” said Baxter in response to Mining Weekly.

“Private sector participation is the way that we can get ourselves out of the mess that this economy’s in at the moment. I still believe that South Africa’s got a 2% potential growth rate, only 2%.

“If you look at a typical endogenous production function and growth model for South Africa, total factor productivity in the economy was negative for the last three years owing to network industries – rail, port, pipelines – and until we get much greater private sector participation in those areas, we’re not going to solve the issue.

“I can say very confidently from a business perspective that I was part of the six-business-leader team that met with President Cyril Ramaphosa in February to highlight what we are really looking for, and it’s no longer about identifying what the specific solutions are, it’s about implementing what’s been agreed.

“On the infrastructure side, I can say what’s been agreed is how we get much greater private sector participation on energy and then on the rail side, trying to get the existing core established and there is a process under way to allow private sector participation in rail.

“At this stage, we’re not convinced it’s going to change the game, but that’s a pressure point that we’re pushing on government.

“Unlocking private sector capability in municipalities. There is not a single municipality that is in a mining area that is not helped by the mining companies. We can’t take over the responsibility of the State but we help with water, engineering and financial services and others to make sure that those local authorities and municipalities are stabilized because it also affects the morale in communities and particularly our workforce,” Baxter added.

“We’re doing our bit and we’re doing it in a reach-out partnership way with government. What we’re doing is going with construction solutions to try and get practical outcomes but it takes time.

“We’ve been working on some of these issues for from three to five years and if we could have a little bit more expedited processes in various areas, we could get certain things a lot quicker.

“In certain areas we have seconded in people to assist local authorities, but when it gets to regulatory issues like licensing, it’s quite difficult for the Minerals Council or the mining companies to second people into government because there is a direct conflict of interest.

“But there are other ways that you can solve the challenges by getting Operation Vulindlela and government to make sure that in certain areas they are applying more capacity,” he said.

Diversified miner Anglo American on May 6 launched a prototype of its first self-developed zero-emission hydrogen-powered mine haul truck, which was developed as part of its Future Smart Mining strategy.

The 2 MW hydrogen-battery hybrid truck, which is stationed at the Mogalakwena platinum mine, in Limpopo, in South Africa, is currently the world's largest hydrogen-powered mine haul truck. It is capable of carrying a 290 t payload and generates more power than its diesel predecessor.

A 2 700 hp diesel engine has been replaced with eight parallel fuel cells, totalling 837 kW, and a 1.2 MWh lithium-ion battery.

Anglo head of technology development, mining and sustainability Julian Soles told media delegates during the launch event that a new drive train had to be installed and integrated into the truck’s control systems.

The company, alongside multinational utility company Engie, engineering firm First Mode, clean energy fuel cell solutions provider Ballard and hydrogen storage company NPROXX, embarked on the design and development process of a zero-emission truck fleet solution in 2019, in order to meet Anglo's 2040 carbon emission goals.

Diesel emissions from Anglo’s haul truck fleet accounts for between 10% and 15% of its total Scope 1 emissions and a fleet overhaul is, therefore, an important step in the group’s pathway to carbon-neutral operations by 2040, commented Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad.

The truck had undergone building, modification and testing in the US for just over 12 months, before being transported to South Africa. It was first motion tested at Mogalakwena under real mining conditions in March.

The event marked the first hauling with hydrogen in Anglo’s 100-year history in South Africa.

Anglo aims to have eight mines down to net-zero emissions by 2030, which involves replacing its entire diesel fleet. About 80% of the group’s diesel consumption is on large trucks.

A traditional mine haul truck uses about 3 500 ℓ/d of diesel, which equates to about one-million litres a year.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who attended the launch event, said the introduction of the hydrogen-powered truck was a major leap for South Africa's hydrogen economy.

"We celebrate the first time a loading haul truck is not being powered by fossil fuels in the history of mining.

"Today's launch is not only about investment and research and development, but also commitment to a strategy and courageous leadership," he added.

Ramaphosa also reiterated South Africa's commitment to a just transition to a low-carbon economy.

THE PLANT

Along with the development of the hydrogen-powered truck, the companies built an entire “NuGen Zero Emission Haulage Solution” hydrogen ecosystem to generate and store hydrogen at the Mogalakwena mine.

“This integrated ecosystem delivers an end-to-end solution for decarbonisation haulage, providing the lowest total cost of ownership and targeting a dollars per tonne cost equivalent to diesel. Our mines will have the same operational flexibility as it currently has, not being tied to fixed infrastructure,” explained Soles.

Anglo built a 3.5 MW electrolyser on site, as well as hydrogen storage tanks with 800 kg of capacity at 500 bars of pressure. The hydrogen is not converted to a liquid at any point in the process, instead it stays in a gaseous state and is transported at a high pressure.

The company tasked Engie to develop its hydrogen ecosystem with safety at its heart, and had third-party safety experts provide an independent review to help guide safety aspects of the plant.

The hydrogen dispenser on site is capable of moving 4 kg of hydrogen a minute at 250 bars of pressure.

The NuGen hydrogen ecosystem also has a truck retrofit area, hydrogen compression and cooling area and solar photovoltaic panels that feed the mine grid. The electrolyser comprises two compressors to take the pressure up to 500 bar for hydrogen storage.

The electrolyser is based in a building to protect the machinery from dust and comes fully eq...

JSE- and NYSE-listed precious and battery metals miner Sibanye-Stillwater has reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of R13.66-billion ($898-million) for the quarter ended March 31.

This marks a 31% year-on-year decrease from the record Ebitda of R19.83-billion ($1.32-billion) reported for the first quarter of 2021.

The miner’s operating environment this year, thus far, has been characterised by sociopolitical and economic uncertainty; however, the group reports that it is well positioned to navigate these challenges, both internally and externally.

On an annualised basis, the first quarter’s adjusted Ebitda equates to about R55-billion ($3.6-billion) – well above the adjusted Ebitda of R49.4-billion ($3-billion) reported for 2020 and the R15-billion ($1-billion) reported for 2019.

This year’s first-quarter annualised adjusted Ebitda is the second-highest since the group was established, with the highest on record being the R68.6-billion ($4.6-billion) reported for 2021.

Domestically, the socioeconomic and labour environment remains a challenge for Sibanye, with the lockout of workers who are members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) at the miner’s South African gold operations.

This follows extended wage negotiations and a strike by AMCU and NUM members that is entering its third month.

In this regard, Sibanye says it is continuing to engage with organised labour to secure a fair and sustainable agreement, but will also not be coerced into above-inflation wage demands, which may impact on the sustainability of its operations and negatively impact other stakeholders.

While an employee lockout remains in place, Sibanye has suspended its guidance for the South African gold operations.

Sibanye’s capital expenditure for the first quarter was 62% higher year-on-year at R974-million ($64-million), primarily as a result of the R204-million ($13-million) project investment at the Marikana K4 project.

Sustaining capital was 55% higher year-on-year, at R386-million ($25-million).

PLATINUM GROUP METALS

The miner’s South African platinum group metal (PGM) operations performed strongly in the period under review, producing 421 540 oz of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (4E). This includes third-party purchase of concentrate (PoC), which was 5% lower year-on-year.

Underground production of 370 272 oz of 4E was 5% lower year-on-year, but partly offset by 15% higher surface production of 40 576 oz of 4E.

Total production from the South African PGM operations (excluding PoC) of 410 848 oz of 4E was 3% lower year-on-year, primarily as a result of a slower-than-planned return to work at the Marikana and Rustenburg operations after the December break.

Sibanye says its cost management endeavours, despite inflationary pressures, were again evident in the 6% year-on-year reduction in its all-in sustaining costs (AISC), including PoC, of R18 600/oz of 4E ($1 222/oz). This was mainly owing to reduced third-party PoC material purchases.

AISC (excluding PoC) was 1% higher year-on-year at R17 886/oz ($1 175/oz), despite marginally lower production.

These cost management efforts from Sibanye’s South African PGM operations were maintained despite the impact of inflationary pressures affecting the mining industry globally, partially offset by higher credits received from the by-products sold as a result of increased metal prices and is in stark contrast to the double-digit cost increases reported by PGM industry peers during the past 12 months.

Marikana produced 3% less year-on-year, at 169 102 oz of 4E (excluding PoC), while the Rustenburg operation’s production was 5% lower year-on-year at 149 041 oz of 4E.

PGMs production of 49 518 oz from the Kroondal operation was 7% lower year-on-year, as a result of adverse ground conditions at both Kroondal East and West, which led to lower yields, particularly in March.

The openpit Kl...

Despite facing various global challenges, JSE-listed gold miner Gold Fields achieved a 7% year-on-year increase in attributable equivalent gold production for the quarter ended March 31.

While the 580 000 oz of gold produced in the quarter was 8% lower quarter-on-quarter, Gold Fields said it remained on track to achieve its full-year production guidance.

The South Deep mine, in South Africa, produced 78 000 oz of gold in the first quarter – a 31% year-on-year increase.

Production at Gold Fields' Ghana mines, however, decreased by 5% year-on-year to 210 000 oz.

The Australian operations delivered a 10% year-on-year increase in output, at 258 000 oz, while the Cerro Corona mine, in Peru, produced 56 000 oz – a 21% year-on-year increase.

CEO Chris Griffith said on May 5 that the first quarter had been a challenging start to the year from a macro perspective.

“As we finally seemed to have overcome the worst of Covid‐19, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has had a material impact. [In addition to] the devastation caused by . . . war, the world is being plagued with heightened inflation, driven by high oil and gas prices and, more broadly, higher commodity prices.

"While we expected the mining sector to be challenged by high inflation at the start of the year, the impact has been worse than initially expected,” he said.

Griffith noted that high commodity prices had driven inflation in energy costs, logistics and consumables.

However, the higher inflationary pressures were offset to some extent by higher‐than‐expected copper by‐product credit, he added.

Consequently, Gold Fields would leave its full-year cost guidance unchanged.

For 2022, attributable gold equivalent production, excluding the Asanko mine, in Ghana, is expected to be between 2.25-million and 2.29-million ounces, compared with the 2.25-million ounces produced in 2021.

Asanko is an equity accounted joint venture between precious metals producer Galiano Gold and Gold Fields.

Including Asanko, however, attributable gold equivalent production is expected to be between 2.29-million and 2.34-million ounces.

All-in-sustaining costs for the full-year are expected to be between $1 140/oz and $1 180/oz, with all-in costs (AIC) expected to be between $1 370/oz and $1 410/oz.

If the large project capital expenditure taking place at the Salares Norte project, in Chile, is excluded, AIC are expected to be between $1 230/oz and $1 270/oz.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

In terms of Gold Fields renewable energy efforts, Griffith noted that the South Deep mine’s 50 MW solar plant, in Gauteng, was on track for commissioning in the third quarter of the year, with installation of the 101 000 solar panels proceeding.

Nearly 240 people have been employed in the construction phase of the project, with black economic empowerment contractors carrying out most of the work.

After President Cyril Ramaphosa announced last year that the licensing exemption for distributed generation would increase to 100 MW, South Deep applied to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) for approval to increase its solar project output capacity to 60 MW.

South Deep obtained approval from Nersa in March.

Year-to-date expenditure on the plant amounted to R164-million, with the full-year expenditure expected to reach R554-million. Total expenditure to build and commission the plant is estimated at about R700-million.

Griffith said the construction of the plant was currently 9% behind plan, owing to global supply constraints and the need to secure shipping slots. However, he noted that the team remained confident that the plant would still come online in August to supply electricity as planned.

Meanwhile, at the Gruyere mine in Australia, the construction of a 12 MW solar plant and a 4.4 MW battery storage facility has been completed with the system now being performance tested and ramping up for commissioning, scheduled for June.

Gruyere is a 50:50 joint venture between gold production companies Gold Road and Gruyere...