South Africa’s Siyanda Bakgatla Platinum Mine (SBPM) is the latest operation to embrace this shift, appointing independent energy company NOA as its renewable energy supplier following advisory support from Energy Brokers. The agreement is expected to replace a significant portion of the mine’s carbon-intensive grid electricity with renewable energy, while providing greater price certainty and long-term cost savings.

The announcement reflects a broader trend emerging across Southern Africa, where mining companies are increasingly looking beyond traditional electricity supply models. Years of tariff increases, power supply constraints and grid instability have accelerated investment in renewable energy projects, power purchase agreements (PPAs) and electricity wheeling arrangements that offer greater flexibility and predictability.

For energy-intensive sectors such as mining, the business case has become increasingly compelling.

Located at Swartklip on the border of Limpopo and North West provinces, SBPM is one of South Africa’s leading black-owned platinum group metals (PGM) producers. Operating within the Bushveld Igneous Complex, the mine extracts ore from depths of between 850 and 1,400 metres and has established itself as a significant long-life mining and processing operation.

The mine also places considerable emphasis on community participation and development. The Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela community is a co-owner of the operation, with ongoing investment in local development delivered through its Social Performance programmes and Social and Labour Plan commitments.

Electricity has become one of the largest operating expenses for South African mines. Against a backdrop of volatile global PGM prices, rising energy costs continue to place pressure on margins, making long-term energy planning a critical component of operational resilience.

Under the new agreement, NOA will supply approximately 288 GWh of renewable electricity annually through a diversified portfolio of wind, solar and battery energy storage. By sourcing electricity from multiple renewable technologies rather than a single generation asset, the company aims to provide both pricing certainty and supply flexibility.

“Energy is one of the largest and most difficult cost lines to manage in our business. At the scale we operate, even marginal improvements in energy pricing and reliability translate directly into our ability to sustain employment, invest in our people and continue developing the communities around us. The NOA solution gives us meaningful cost relief, supply flexibility and a credible pathway to reducing our carbon footprint – all of which are critical to how we run our mine responsibly and sustainably,” said Imraan Osman, Chief Financial Officer of Siyanda Bakgatla Platinum Mine.

For NOA, the agreement demonstrates increasing demand from industrial customers seeking flexible renewable energy solutions that support both commercial performance and decarbonisation objectives.

Group CEO Karel Cornelissen said the company’s diversified approach enables it to meet the operational requirements of large mining customers while helping them reduce their reliance on conventional grid electricity.

“Siyanda Bakgatla Platinum Mine is precisely the kind of high-quality South African operation that exemplifies why a flexible, large-scale renewable energy solution matters. It delivers predictable price certainty and cost savings relative to existing alternatives, while contributing to decarbonisation objectives. Our ability to deliver 288 GWh per year through a combination of wind, solar and battery energy storage, on terms that work for the mine’s operational and commercial realities, is what NOA is built to do.”

While South Africa currently leads the continent in private renewable energy procurement for mining, similar models are beginning to emerge elsewhere in Africa as governments reform electricity markets and investors expand renewable generation capacity.

For mining companies operating in energy-constrained jurisdictions, renewable power is no longer simply an environmental initiative. It is increasingly viewed as a strategic tool to improve operational resilience, reduce exposure to rising electricity prices and strengthen long-term competitiveness.

As Africa’s mining industry continues its energy transition, partnerships between miners, independent power producers and energy traders are expected to play an increasingly significant role in securing reliable, affordable and lower-carbon electricity for the sector

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