Africa’s heavy industry is undergoing a structural shift as major mining houses accelerate their transition toward renewable energy, swapping expensive thermal generation for large-scale solar arrays. In a region where energy can account for up to 30% of cash operating costs, the pivot to solar is increasingly viewed less as a corporate social responsibility exercise and more as a hard-nosed financial strategy to stabilize margins.
Historically, remote mining operations across the continent have been shackled to heavy fuel oil (HFO) plants, a logistical and environmental liability. However, the economics have reached a tipping point. Industry analysts note that baseload renewable solutions are now 20% to 30% cheaper than full thermal fleets. This price advantage is being driven by a dramatic collapse in battery energy storage system (BESS) costs, allowing mines to extend solar usage well beyond daylight hours and, in some cases, shut down thermal engines entirely during peak sun.
The operational results are already validating the investment. At the Otjikoto mine in Namibia, B2Gold’s 6 MW solar facility now provides roughly 13% of the site’s power, while its Fekola operation in Mali is expected to draw 30% of its electricity from solar and storage. Beyond carbon reduction, these installations offer a hedge against the price volatility of imported fuels and the chronic instability of national grids. For junior and mid-sized miners, this “product-market fit” provides immediate relief from inflationary pressures that often plague traditional energy supply chains.
“We’re the first company of this size and scale to be able to turn off all of our thermal engines during the day,” said Ken Jones, Director for Sustainability at B2Gold, in a media statement highlighting the reliability of the technology. “These facilities have more than performed. They’ve met and actually exceeded projections and modelling.”
As technology matures, the industry is moving toward “near total” renewable solutions. Innovations like “wheeling”—where power is generated at a dedicated solar farm and transmitted via the national grid to the mine—are beginning to emerge in markets like South Africa and Namibia. While land availability and regulatory hurdles remain, the trajectory is clear: as Africa supplies the critical minerals for the global energy transition, its own mines are increasingly being powered by the very green technology they help create.
