The Energy Export Initiative is conducting a new study to analyse the potential of supplying power to mines using renewable energies. The emerging mining nations of Mali and Senegal serve as an example of how this can be done.
The mining of industrial and precious metals, rare earth elements and precious stones is a very energy-intensive process. Pressure is growing on international mining companies to make greater use of renewable energies to power mines. Pollutive power generators run on heavy fuel oil, diesel and gas have traditionally been used to supply remote locations that are not connected to national grids – until now. Initial projects carried out using solar and wind energy to provide the base load supply to mines have been a success.
“The mining sector in Africa offers huge market potential for German companies. As one of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters, it at the same time offers huge potential for the use of environmentally friendly energy technologies,” says Christina Wittek, Head of Division for the Energy Export Initiative at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). (GTAI/Si.)
