IVORY COAST: TotalEnergies to connect the Séguéla gold mine to solar power

In Ivory Coast, French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies is entering into a new partnership with Canadian mining operator Fortuna Silver. The aim is to equip the new Séguéla gold mine with a 6 MWp photovoltaic solar power plant.

Just six months after its commissioning, the Seguéla gold mine is moving towards sustainability. This is the result of a partnership signed recently between its operator, Roxgold Sango, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Fortuna Silver Mines, and TotalEnergies, the French oil and gas giant. The collaboration will result in the installation of a 6 MWp ground-mounted photovoltaic solar power plant.

According to TotalEnergies, the solar power plant could generate up to 11.7 GWh of electricity per year, enough to meet 30% of the energy needs of the Séguéla mine, located 500 km north of the economic capital Abidjan. For Peter Hansen, Director of Sustainable Development for Fortuna Silver Mines in West Africa, this is “the first large-scale solar project at a mine in Ivory Coast. We are proud that this project can contribute both to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Ivory Coast and the company, while creating economic and sustainable development opportunities for the country and local stakeholders”.

The solar power plant is expected to enable Roxgold Sango to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 15% by 2030 for all its operations and projects, compared to forecast GHG emissions. “This 2030 target also underlines the Group’s commitment to supporting the global ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 by investing in technology, energy efficiency initiatives and renewable energy,” says the mining group founded by geological engineer Jorge A. Ganoza.

In Ivory Coast, Fortuna Silver Mines has invested 78 billion CFA francs (118.9 million euros) in the construction of the Séguéla gold mine. Its subsidiary Roxgold Sango, which is also 10% owned by the Ivorian state, is forecasting production of around 130,000 ounces of gold a year at this site in the Worodougou region.

Cover photo: By AFRIK21