Online Reporter
Nelson Gahadza
Zimpapers Business Hub
Karo Platinum Holdings plans to build a 30-megawatt solar power plant to support electricity requirements at its platinum project in Mhondoro Ngezi, as the miner moves to secure reliable power for phase one construction and early operations.
The company is targeting first ore production from the Karo Platinum Project in the first half next year, having made significant progress on mine development, which to date has consumed US$190 million of the US$543 million planned investment for phase 1.
Karo Platinum country manager Dr Josphat Zimba said the first phase of the mine will require about 30 megawatts of power, reflecting the energy-intensive nature of platinum processing.
“The solar plant will complement electricity supplied from the national grid, which will remain the primary source of power, particularly during nighttime operations,” he said in an interview after a tour of the mine.
He said the mine’s total installed power demand for the full plant stands at 27 megawatts, with the milling section alone consuming 11 megawatts.
Dr Zimba noted that Karo will initially draw most of its power from the national grid, supported by dedicated transmission infrastructure being built to service the project.
“We are getting that power mainly from the national grid. We are setting up a 132 kV line from Selous substation, and then on-site we will have our own substation where we are going to step down the 132 kV to 11 kV, and then subsequently, we are going to step down the 11 kV to 525 and 240 volts, which we are going to utilise in the plant,” he said.
Karo entered into an agreement with the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) for power supply, with provisions to import electricity from the region.
According to Dr Zimba, the company will get power from the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP) member countries, such as Mozambique and Zambia.
The Government has since expressed satisfaction with progress at the project in Mhondoro, describing it as one of the flagship investments under the Second Republic.
The Karo Mining project will become a significant addition to Zimbabwe’s pipeline of platinum group metals (PGM) mines currently under development.
Zimbabwe presently has three active PGMs operations owned by South African firms: Impala Platinum Holdings (Implats), which controls Zimplats, Valterra Platinum, formerly Anglo-American Platinum (Amplats), and the Mimosa Mining Company, jointly owned by Implats and Sibanye-Stillwater on a 50-50 basis.
