Ivanhoe Mines signs 48.3-GWh solar power deal in S Africa

Canadian mining company Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (TSE:IVN) has signed a deal with energy trader Enpower Trading to procure 48.3 GWh of solar electricity annually for its Platreef mine under construction in South Africa.

Image by: SolarAfrica.

The electricity contracted under a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) will be sourced from SolarAfrica Energy’s 1-GW SunCentral solar project in De Aar. It will be delivered directly to the mine in Limpopo through a wheeling agreement, a press statement says.

Enpower sealed the offtake deal with the Canadian firm’s subsidiary Ivanplats.

Operations at Platreef are scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025. A number of phased expansions are planned over the next decade to bring the mine’s production to more than 1 million ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, as well as 35,000 tonnes of nickel and copper.

SolarAfrica recently announced financial close on the initial 114-MW segment of the SunCentral solar project. Its phase 1 will include three identical stages.