AngloGold Ashanti’s Australian subsidiary has entered into an agreement with Pacific Energy to construct and operate 62 megawatts of wind and solar generation capacity at the Tropicana mine.
Under the agreement, Pacific Energy will construct the renewables project and continue to operate the combined renewables-gas power station under a ten-year power purchase agreement.
The project is expected to be one of the largest renewable energy projects in Australia’s natural resource sector. Once the project is built, it will be integrated into the power supply for the Tropicana joint venture (JV).
The Tropicana JV is located 330 kilometres east-northeast of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. AngloGold Ashanti’s unaudited March 2023 quarterly results reported that the Tropicana JV produced 64,000 ounces of gold for the quarter.
AngloGold Ashanti Australia own 70 per cent of the Tropicana JV and it manages the mine’s operations, and Regis Resources own the remaining 30 per cent.
AngloGold Ashanti chief executive officer Alberto Calderon said the company has a responsibility to identify and address current and future climate-related threats.
“This renewables project at Tropicana is another important step forward for us, not only in realising our overall climate objectives, but also improving our overall security of energy supply and significantly reducing the site’s natural gas consumption,” Calderon said.
Last year, the company announced its plans to cut Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 through a combination of renewable energy projects and initiatives which improve efficiency or use lower-emission power sources.
Tropicana’s hybrid wind and solar with battery storage facility will be the first of its kind to be implemented by AngloGold Ashanti. It is expected to reduce average carbon emissions by more than 65,000 tonnes per annum over the agreement’s ten-year life.
The project is due for completion in early 2025, with on-site construction expected to commence in the second half of 2023.
