Sunlight powering IAMGold mine

Renewables could be a major part of all off-grid mining power sources, energy company Total EREN says after opening a solar plant next to Iamgold's (CN:IMG) Essakane gold mine in Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso president Roch Marc Christian Kabor?(C) (centre) toured the US$25 million project last week with IAMGold CEO Steve Letwin (on the right)

A Total EREN and Africa Energy Management Platform (AEMP) 90:10 joint venture has built the 15MW peak solar plant, from which Iamgold will be able to source a third of its power at peak times, the rest still coming from its existing 57MW heavy fuel plant.