Northam Platinum is positioning its Eland mine to become South Africa’s first platinum group metals mine powered entirely by renewable energy, as the company steps up investment in solar, wind and battery storage across its operations.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed platinum and chrome producer said the Eland mine could eventually operate without external water supplies, adding to its plans to cut carbon emissions and reduce energy costs across the group.

Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne outlined the plans on Aug. 28 as the company reported a sharp increase in earnings and record dividends.

He said renewable energy projects were becoming an important part of the company’s effort to lower operating costs while improving energy security.

“We will continue to roll out our renewable-energy programme,” Dunne said, pointing to the commissioning of an 80-megawatt solar farm at the company’s Zondereinde mine as a major milestone.

Northam expands solar and wind projects

The Zondereinde solar plant is expected to generate about 220,000 megawatt-hours of electricity a year, cut carbon emissions by 240,000 metric tons and reduce the mine’s energy costs by 15%, according to Northam.

The company is also developing the 140 MW Karreebosch wind farm, the 255 MW Thakadu solar project and a solar facility at Eland. Northam plans to install 360 MWh of industrial battery storage across its operations.

Once the projects are fully operational in fiscal 2028, Northam expects to generate more than 1,000 GWh of renewable electricity, reduce carbon intensity by about 70% and cut annual electricity costs by roughly 1 billion rand($61.88 million).

Eland targets renewable power

At Eland, construction has started on a solar and battery project that will initially provide 20 MW, with plans to expand it to 40 MW.

The first phase is expected to produce about 55 MWh of energy and avoid 60,000 tons of carbon emissions a year.

“At Eland, we have a truly unique opportunity to create the first PGM mine in South Africa operating solely on renewable energy,” Dunne said.

Northam also plans to phase out external water sources at Eland before the end of the decade, which Dunne said would strengthen the mine’s environmental credentials.

The renewable-energy programme is part of Northam’s Vision 2031 strategy, which aims to reduce energy costs by one-third.

The company’s fiscal 2026 operating profit jumped more than 293%, while revenue rose 64% to 54 billion rand. Ebitda increased 239% to 16.6 billion rand.