B2Gold wants solar farm to power mine in Mali

Canadian gold miner B2Gold Corp (TSE:BTO) plans to build a solar farm of around 30 MW to reduce processing costs at its Fekola mine site in Mali.

A technical and economic viability study carried out by the company has shown a 30-MW photovoltaic (PV) park with a battery storage component would result in “the best economic result”. This has been followed by a detailed capital and operating cost analysis.

On presenting its financial result for the second quarter last week, B2Gold said its board has given the go-ahead to the project. Completion is expected in August 2020. The company expects a four-year payback period.

B2Gold calculates that the operation of the solar farm can reduce Fekola's processing costs by approximately 7%. It said that using solar power during the day would save it roughly 13.1 million litres of heavy fuel oil (HFO) a year.

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