An increase in renewable energy to help develop DRC mines
The continued introduction of new renewable energy capacities is key to the success of current and future mining projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) panelists said during a session of the DRC Mining Week virtual webinar that was held on June 18.
The panel consisted of Raphael Khalifa, CEO of Tembo Power, and the Southern African Independent Power Generator (IPP), and Serge Tshitembu, senior advisor to IPP Geosolar Grid. Both companies have started up renewable energy plants in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The panellists agreed that with the introduction of new opportunities, demand would increase if more electricity were introduced into the DRC network.
Currently, the vast majority of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is not electrified, and many remote mines have to install their own power plants or possibly develop nearby small power plants, if available.
According to Khalifa and Tshitembu, the current electricity deficit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was difficult to estimate from the perspective of mining demand alone, but was in the region of around 4,000 MW.
Khalifa said that renewable energies play an important role in the energy mix in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with most of the currently installed capacity being hydro-power.
This means that the emission credits in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are also lower, since the country already uses a large volume of renewable energy sources and little electricity from fossil fuels.
However, some mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have installed large fossil fuel power plants to operate remote mines and ensure that they are independent of national grid insecurity and disruptions.
Tshitembu said that looking at the operating expenses of the mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo shows that they use a lot of fuel. “This is definitely not environmentally friendly and it is definitely the right time to invest in green energy sectors with a decarbonized future in mind.”
Even in terms of the number of funds investing in the energy sector, he pointed out that the majority invest a lot in green energy projects
More generally, Tshitembu added that there was a need for miners, especially for those mining copper and cobalt, to show that the minerals were being responsibly mined, and that this meant that the power such mines consumed should also be responsibly generated.
This, in turn, is driving a greater demand for renewable energy projects that DRC mines can tap into.
There is further demand from electronics manufactures to also ensure their components are made using materials that have been responsibly mined, therefore, further putting pressure on DRC miners to shift away from fossil-fuel-derived energy sources.
As traceability measures become more entrenched, Khalifa said that very soon these major electronics manufacturers would not be able to source copper or cobalt that had not been mined responsibly.
