Gold miner Caledonia Mining has entered into a conditional agreement to sell the entire issued share capital of its Zimbabwe subsidiary, Caledonia Mining Services (CMS) to CrossBoundary Energy (CBE) for $22.35 million.
CMS is the owner and operator of the 12.2 MW solar plant that supplies power to the Blanket mine.
The Blanket Mine will, however, continue to purchase electricity from the solar facility under an exclusive power purchase agreement.
Caledonia allocated $14.3 million to the construction of the solar project, which supplies about one-fifth of the Blanket mine's daily electrical needs.
The solar facility has produced more than 47,350 MWh of power since its commissioning in February 2023.
The utilisation of diesel generators and grid electricity at the mine has been substantially diminished as a result of the solar plant's power generation.
“We are pleased to have signed this agreement to sell the solar plant, which, upon completion, will enable us to redeploy capital to our core business of mining. While the sale will generate an immediate profit for the company, more importantly, we have identified an experienced partner in CBE, which brings vast expertise in delivering and running renewable-energy projects,” said Caledonia chief executive Mark Learmonth.
“We look forward to developing a strong relationship with CBE; we are already working with them to deliver a meaningful extension to the plant, and we will be considering renewable-energy solutions at our other development projects in due course.”
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
