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Home > News > Mining Leaders Prepare for...

Mining Leaders Prepare for Renewable Energy Summit in Johannesburg Next Week

Jun 25, 2015

Senior representatives from major mining houses and junior operations in Canada are preparing for what is sure to be a timely and important dialogue about energy challenges for remote and grid-connected operations in Africa on July 1-2. 

 

Energy and Mines an organization dedicated to building connections between mining and energy, is hosting its second annual Renewables and Mining Summit & Exhibition in Johannesburg at the Hilton, Sandton and the response from African mining operators has been phenomenal.

Among the Canadian based mining companies attending the conference will be IAMGOLD.

 

Over 40 African mine operators will participate in the two-day Summit including representatives from Acacia Mining, Alexkor, Anglo American, Anglo American Platinum, AngloGold Ashanti, Black Mountain Mining, De Beers Consolidated Mines, Diamond Corp, Exxaro, Gold Fields, IAMGOLD, IFM, Imerys South Africa, Kalagadi Manganese, Kumba Iron Ore, Newmont Ghana Gold, PPC, Samancor Chrome, Shanta Gold, Sibanye Gold Limited, Vedanta Resources, Vunani Resources and Xstrata Alloys. They will be joined by international leaders in renewable energy including developers, suppliers, integrators, engineering experts and investors.

Hatch and SunEdison are Principal Sponsors of the Summit. Main Sponsors are Siemens and NRG and Caterpillar is a Lead Sponsor. These are the companies at the forefront of developing customized energy solutions for African mines.

"Hatch has a strong track record with the mining and renewables sectors in Africa and we are looking forward to meeting with mining leaders to discuss their energy challenges and needs," comments Rob Lydan, Director of Solar and Wind for Hatch.

Siemens has seen increasing interest from African mine operators in customized energy solutions. "Two years ago, we were the ones proposing and explaining the solutions and now we are being contacted by an increasing number of mining operators to study how these solutions can be introduced into their strategies," says Jean-Charles Brun, Sales Manager, Smart Generation Solutions for Siemens.

"African mines are ripe for an array of renewable energy solutions that can be tailored to their unique situations and challenges," adds Executive Chairman and CEO of NRG Renew Africa Grant Pattison. "These include mixes of on-grid and off-grid systems and could be a combination of wind, solar or photovoltaic energy generation, as well as micro grid and mini grid solution."

With South Africa facing the worst electricity crisis in decades, major mining houses including Sibanye, Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti, Anglo American Platinum and ArcelorMittal are looking at renewables options including solar, wind and biomass. Mining operations in Ghana, Zambia, DRC and Tanzania are also looking to secure their energy supplies after being forced to curtail production or, in some cases, close operations due to power shortages. Remote mines across the region are similarly looking to reduce their operational costs through diesel abatement strategies including renewables integration. All of these topics will be covered in-depth at the Summit, which will provide detailed case studies from remote and grid-tied mines integrating renewables.

Click here for more details on the Summit.