Centamin CEO on renewables and ESG plans

African gold miner Centamin made headlines last year when they announced the commissioning of the largest hybrid solar project at an off–grid mining operation at the Sukari mine in Egypt. Here CEO Martin Horgan provides Energy and Mines with an update on this project, future renewable deployments and their overall ESG strategy.

Energy and Mines: How is the focus on climate change and ESG driving energy decisions for your operations?

Martin Horgan: Climate-related risk is fundamentally challenging the way we generate power at Sukari and the use of fossil fuels. At Centamin we are constantly looking at ways of mitigating all carbon emissions. The planned solar PV plant will be the largest of its kind for an off-grid gold mining operation and will provide 36 MW DC during peak sun hours and is expected to deliver at least a 15% reduction in GHG emissions for the Sukari operation.

Under investigation in 2022 are several options to further reduce our reliance on diesel for power generation, including a ‘phase 2’ expansion of the Sukari solar PV, grid connection and LNG conversion of the existing diesel generators. Future capital investment in these such projects are supported by the recent update to our Life of Asset review which confirms at least 12 years operating mine life.

We also see substantial opportunities to use energy (and diesel) more efficiently through optimisation of our operations. In 2021 (and ongoing) this has included optimisation of fleet with the introduction of ‘high production truck trays’ which are larger and lighter; optimisation of our processing facility including modified operational controls in the ultrafine grinding circuit, allowing intermittent shutdown of the vertical mill, and introduction of MillStar process optimisation software.

E&M: How are plans evolving for solar and storage at Sukari and what are your key takeaways so far?

MH: Good. Construction commenced at the end-2021 and we remain on track to commission phase 1 Sukari solar PV towards the end of the first half of 2022. New power control systems to support integration have already been commissioned leading to optimised operation of the existing thermal power plant. The additional 7.5 MW battery–energy storage system will help us to maintain a sustainable supply of power, backing up the plant during the times of power transitioning from solar to diesel and vice versa.

Substantive increase in the unit costs of fossil fuel through 2021 makes an investment in renewables even more attractive. Furthermore, in the case of Egypt, but relevant more broadly, there is increased competition and capacity of the local supply chain to support, fabricate and install renewable energy infrastructure.

E&M: Do you see opportunities for further renewable energy and storage integration for Centamin’s other African projects?

MH: The options available for investment in renewable energy are location-dependent and can be expected to vary from country to country (region to region). Egypt, for example, has abundant solar resources and wind in various coastal areas. New projects provide the best opportunity to set aggressive targets for GHG reduction and allocate capital for renewable energy. Renewable energy options (and climate-related risk) should be integrated into pre-feasibility decision-making for new projects to confirm if the project can meet long-term GHG reduction targets.

In the case of our Doropo Project in Cote d’Ivoire, this is currently under investigation. West African gas resources are increasingly a real consideration as an alternative to diesel and/or fuel oil power generation and being considered at early study phases to be incorporated into project planning.