Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc (Zimbabwe) – Solar Plant Provides Power to Blanket Mine

By Published On: November 15th, 2022Categories: Corporate announcement

St Helier, November 14, 2022 – Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc (“Caledonia” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the new solar plant at Blanket Mine (“Blanket”) will today start to generate power.

Background

Blanket currently receives its power from ZESA, Zimbabwe’s national electricity supplier. In recent years this supply has been subject to load-shedding and unstable power, which has economic and safety implications for an underground mine such as Blanket. During outages or low voltages, the power supply at Blanket had to be supplemented by standby diesel generators to enable uninterrupted mining and capital operations. Diesel-generated electricity is expensive, subject to an unpredictable supply of diesel and creates an unfavourable environmental footprint. Recognising the economic, environmental and logistical challenges of running large-scale diesel generators for extended periods, Caledonia started constructing the 12.2 MWac solar plant late in 2021. As from today, the solar plant will provide power to Blanket; in due course it is expected that the solar plant will provide approximately 27 per cent of Blanket’s average daily electricity demand.

Commenting on the announcement, Mark Learmonth, Chief Executive Officer, said:

“I am delighted that the solar plant is connected to the Blanket grid and from today Blanket will start to receive some of its energy directly from solar.

“With 21 per cent of Blanket’s on-mine costs relating to energy usage, this solar plant is a very important project for the Company as it will improve the quality and security of Blanket’s electricity supply and provide environmental benefits through cleaner energy. The solar power will displace more expensive power from the grid and from the diesel generators and is expected to reduce Caledonia’s consolidated cost per ounce of gold produced by approximately $37.”

Enquiries:
Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc
Mark Learmonth
Camilla Horsfall
Tel: +44 1534 679 800
Tel: +44 7817 841 793
Cenkos Securities plc (Nomad and Joint Broker)
Adrian Hadden
Neil McDonald
Pearl Kellie
Tel: +44 207 397 1965
Tel: +44 131 220 9771
Tel: +44 131 220 9775
Liberum Capital Limited (Joint Broker)
Scott Mathieson/Kane Collings Tel: +44 20 3100 2000
BlytheRay Financial PR (UK)
Tim Blythe/Megan Ray Tel: +44 207 138 3204
3PPB (Financial PR, North America)
Patrick Chidley
Paul Durham
Tel: +1 917 991 7701
Tel: +1 203 940 2538
Curate Public Relations (Zimbabwe)
Debra Tatenda
Tel: +263 77802131
IH Securities (Private) Limited (VFEX Sponsor – Zimbabwe)
Lloyd Mlotshwa
Tel: +263 (242) 745 119/33/39

The contents of the post above were obtained from third parties, which We, AfricanFinancials, believe to be reliable. However, We do not guarantee their accuracy and the above information may be in condensed form. The reader is encouraged to refer to the original source of the information, which, in most cases, is in PDF format and on the originating company's letterhead. While We endeavour to replicate the original content accurately, We cannot guarantee the absence of errors in the above article and We disclaim any liability regarding reliance on information provided in this article.

Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc (CMC.vx)

Share price: 1,600.00 US(c) (0.00 | 0.00% – 02/06/23)

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