Building a landmark solar project in Namibia: B2Gold's story

B2Gold is moving forward with a landmark solar project which has significant bottom line and social license benefits for this leading gold producer. The 7 MW solar power plant is currently being installed at the company’s Otjikoto mine in Namibia with the aim of reducing the operation’s reliance on heavy fuel oil. “We carried out a lot of financial modelling and have a quick [project] payback,” says Mark Dawe, Managing Director and Country Manager for B2Gold Namibia. Otjikoto mine will be producing for approximately ten years and the project has a payback of 4.3 years. But apart from the fuel savings, one of the most attractive financial benefits for management is reducing the mine’s exposure to oil price volatility, Dawe adds.