Australia’s Wia Gold Limited has outlined power and infrastructure plans for its proposed Kokoseb gold mine in Namibia, citing the project’s “outstanding potential” following completion of a scoping studyThe energy mix looks to tap into the national power grid, with additional back-up support from on-site diesel generators (gensets).Galetech Australia was engaged to provide an assessment of options for power supply to the project.Access to the site, which lies north west of the capital Windhoek, will be from the unsealed C36 road between Omaruru to the east, and Uis to the west.The proposed site access road will consist of a new all-weather surface, approximately 12.7 km long to enable access to both the accommodation village and the mine site and associated plant and equipment.The overall power requirement for the Kokoseb project is an average continual operational demand of approximately 31MW, Wia Gold reported.The Namibian grid in the project area is centred around the Omburu substation located close to Omaruru, which is a major hub connected at 330 kV to Angola in the north and 220 kV to Windhoek and Swakopmund.Local supply from Omburu includes a 66 kV connection to Uis that runs through the project exploration lease as well as 66 kV supplies to Karabib and the nearby Navachab gold mine as well as other regional centres.Wia Gold reported that a workshop with state utility, NamPower, identified that connecting to the existing Omburu–Uis 66 kV line would exceed the allowable 10% voltage drop, exceed existing line capacity, and push conductor temperatures beyond their rating in summer, ruling it out.As such, a new 95 km 66 kV spur from Omburu substation was therefore selected to provide sufficient capacity to supply the project, Wia Gold said.On completion of the construction of the connection the asset would be handed over to NamPower for ongoing operation.“Power supply from the Namibian grid is cost effective compared to all other options, with an average power cost for the project over life of mine of approximately US$0.117/kWh.” Wia Gold noted.At site, the voltage would be stepped down to 22 kV for distribution to the various load centres.“Local diesel generation will provide back-up power for the project,” the Wia Gold statement added.As part of the process for accessing power from the Namibian grid, the mining company has already submitted an application to NamPower, which is now undertaking a technical assessment to outline connection requirements.Wia Gold is also continuing its own studies with a view to securing financing for the project in the latter half of 2026.The company holds multiple other mining projects across the continent, mainly in West Africa and Southern Africa.Read more:
Wia Gold outlines energy plans at Kokoseb mine
Early works at Kokoseb (Image source: Wia Gold)
