Endeavour Mining has accelerated the construction of a 37 MWp photovoltaic solar power plant at the Sabodala-Massawa mine in Senegal. The 36 MW heavy fuel oil power plant that is now being enlarged as part of a brownfield development at Sabodala-Massawa mine will be complemented by the solar power plant.
CEO Sebastien de Montessus, said, “Our decision to proceed with the 37 MWp PV solar power plant at our Sabodala-Massawa mine was made as a result of our unwavering focus on cost and efficiency improvements, which has continued to identify optimization opportunities across the portfolio. This allowed us to redeploy a portion of the proceeds from the sale of our noncore mines.”
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Cost of the proposed solar plant at Sabodala-Massawa mine
The estimated cost of the plant is $55 million. Additionally, 16MW battery system will be built in order to manage power supply and guarantee that fewer generators are needed. According to Endeavour, the hybridization of the Sabodala-Massawa mine is in line with its optimization strategy. And will result in internal rate of return on investment that is 15% pretax based on the mine’s present reserve. And exceeds 20% depending on the possibility for future resource conversion and development.
Boungou and Wahgnion mines in Burkina Faso were recently sold by Endeavour for $300 million. As part of its goal to concentrate on higher-quality assets. The plant, which will drastically reduce fuel use, power prices, and pollution will be commissioned in early 2025.
Furthermore, De Montessus says that the Lafigue greenfield project and the brownfield expansion of Sabodala-Massawa in Cote d’Ivoire are both on schedule for completion next year and within budget.
Additionally, according to De Montessus, Endeavour will achieve its production target for 2023. Which was revised to take into account the sale of the Boungou and Wahgnion mines. At an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) forecast of $895 per ounce to $950 per ounce, the group hopes to produce 1.06 million to 1.14 million ounces.
