Plans for construction of 430MW First Quantum Copper Mines Solar-Wind Power Plants in Zambia have been announced by First Quantum Minerals, a Canadian-based mining and metals company whose principal activities include mineral exploration, development, and mining.
According to the company, a 230-MW solar facility and a 200-MW wind farm will be developed to serve the Kansanshi and Sentinel mines that produced 434 847 metric tons of copper last year, accounting for more than half of Zambia’s entire output.
Total Eren, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, and Chariot Transitional Power, a subsidiary of the London-listed Chariot, will fund, develop, and manage the project the cost of which is approximate US$ 500M.
According to First Quantum, construction is set to begin next year, and the project is still in its early phases.
First Quantum Copper Mines Solar-Wind Power Plants in Zambia to boost copper production
Plans for the construction of the first Quantum Copper Mines Solar-Wind Power Plants in Zambia come at a time when electricity shortages have harmed mining activities in the southern African country, which is nearly entirely dependent on hydropower.
Also read: US $2bn Kafue Gorge Lower Hydropower Station in Zambia commissioned
Drought has caused major power outages on the South African country’s 3,000-megawatt power infrastructure that supplies electricity to the copper mines. While the government has attempted to lessen the impact on the mining industry, the country’s primary source of foreign cash profits, it has also ordered operators to reduce their use at times. Mining corporations have also fought with regulators over power rates in recent years.
First Quantum Copper Mines Solar-Wind Power Plants in Zambia will be among Africa’s largest wind and solar power facilities of their kind. The solar energy will be generated during the day, and the wind energy will be generated primarily at night, with the project producing at peak capacity during Zambia’s dry season, when the country is most vulnerable to droughts, according to Fabienne Demol, Total Eren’s global head of business development, in a statement.
