JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Johannesburg- and New York-listed Sibanye-Stillwater has concluded its fourth renewable energy power purchase agreement (PPA).

The green metals and gold producer has reached financial close for an additional 140 MW wind energy project, the Umsinde Emoyeni Wind Farm, located on the border between the Northern Cape and the Western Cape, near Murraysburg.

Financial close of the project marks another critical step in the journey to carbon neutrality by 2040, Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman highlighted in a release to Mining Weekly.

Construction will commence shortly, with commercial operation scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.

Utilising the national grid through a secured wheeling agreement with State power utility Eskom, the wind farm will supply Sibanye’s South Africa operations.

Under the terms of a 20-year PPA, Umsinde Emoyeni will be fully funded by a build, own and operate project consortium, led by African Clean Energy Developments (ACED) and Energy Infrastructure Management Services (EIMS Africa), which are African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) renewable energy project development, delivery and asset management platforms. Reatile Renewables is also a shareholder in the consortium.

AIIM is a division of Old Mutual Alternative Investments, which has invested in the project through its IDEAS Fund, a domestic infrastructure equity fund. Rand Merchant Bank is the project’s sole mandated lead arranger.

Together with Sibanye’s previously announced PPAs – which also include the ACED-EIMS-IDEAS Castle Wind Farm – the project brings the total dedicated capacity of renewable-energy projects in construction for Sibanye’s exclusive use to 407 MW, which secures 70% of the company’s long-term energy requirements in South Africa.

From 2027, this combined renewables capacity will enable a 24% reduction in Sibanye’s Scope 2 emissions, or about 1 450 000 t of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, and will further enable socioeconomic development for local communities as well as meet the requirements of the South African Mining Charter.

Meanwhile, Sibanye is continuing to pursue the balance of its 600 MW portfolio of renewable-energy projects in its journey to carbon neutrality.

“The renewable energy secured through our four PPAs will enable a stepped reduction in our carbon footprint, aiming to contribute not only to mitigate the effects of climate change, but also enhancing the sustainability and shared value creation of our South Africa operations through favourable pricing relative to current supply.

“We continue to develop and execute energy solutions that contribute to the delivery of our strategy,” Froneman added.

Sibanye, a multinational mining and metals processing group with a diverse portfolio of operations, projects and investments across five continents, is a significant global recycler of platinum group metals autocatalysts with interests in leading mine tailings retreatment operations.

As one of the world’s largest primary producers of platinum, palladium, and rhodium, it also produces and refines iridium and ruthenium, nickel, chrome, copper and cobalt.

The top-tier gold miner also recently begun to diversify its asset portfolio into battery metals mining and processing and increased its presence in the circular economy by growing its recycling and tailings reprocessing exposure globally.