$182 Million Venture: Sought by few Zimbabwe’s Biggest Miners to develop 200 Megawatts of locally-generated Solar Power

By Abdul Rahman Bangura-

NEW AFRICA DAILY NEWS (NADN) Freetown, Sierra Leone– Divulged the Head of the Renewables Company responsible for the projects, asserted the pact was autographed between Grid Africa and the Intensive Energy User Group, whose retinues encompass Impala Platinum Holdings Zimbabwean unit, Tsingshan Holdings Group Co’s Afrochine Smelting and RioZim amongst others.

“Talks with various funding partners, such as mining companies, banks, developmental financiers, and vendors like Power China and RIC Energy, are progressing,” Norman Moyo, co-founder and chief executive of Grid Africa said in an interview. “The financing structure will consist of about 70% debt and 30% equity.”

Zimbabwe encounters an energy drawbacks that often navigates the state-owned power company to implement rolling blackouts to balance supply and demand. The worst drought in four decades has compounded the crisis, cutting supplies from hydropower plants. Diverse miners rely on imported power from neighboring Mozambique to operate.

Zimbabwe boasts of the second-largest platinum deposit and high grade chromium ores in the world, and mining contributes about 12% to the nation’s gross domestic product and makes up around 80% of its exports, according to the US International Trade Administration.

Additional and cheaper electricity is likely to significantly add to the sector’s contribution to economic development.

The first phase of the deal concentrates on mining companies with ready-to-go projects that have the necessary licenses but lack financing, according to Moyo. “Large mines benefit from dedicated grid infrastructure, enabling them to source power flexibly.

Transitioning to local solar generation will offer significant cost and foreign exchange savings compared to importing power,” he remarked.

Grid Africa emanated from Distributed Power Africa, firstly bridged to Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa.

New Africa Daily News Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports, Africa Correspondent