BNC mulls solar power plant project

The nickel miner consumed 1,04 million litres of diesel in the year ended March 31, 2023, down 12,08 percent from 1,18 million litres in the comparable period. The Victoria Falls Stock Exchange-listed miner said mining operations are energy intensive, which requires efficient energy management systems in all processes.

“Energy efficiency results in reduced production costs and improved profitability. The company largely consumes electricity in mine operations and at Trojan Village where our employees reside. However, pollution can be experienced in the use of petrol and diesel in some of our operations,” BNC said in its annual report.

“Our plans are to transition to clean energy sources to reduce our carbon footprint. To this effect, we have invested in a power factor correction unit and we will be embarking on a solar power plant project.”

BNC’s electricity consumption declined by 7,44 percent to 65,68 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2023 from 70,96 million KWh in 2022. The miner said energy management practices are covered by the firm’s Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for all of its activities.

“The EMP is reviewed quarterly based on prevailing energy needs to ensure optimised efficiency at all times. We are pleased to report that we made significant progress in achieving our energy conservation goals during the period under review,” BNC said.

In terms of operations, the company’s nickel concentrate production depreciated by 37 percent to 3,180 compared to the previous year.

Cash and all-in sustaining costs increased from US$10,749 per tonne and US$12,410 per tonne achieved in the previous year to US$18,269 per tonne and US$21,841 per tonne respectively.

The increase in unit production cost was attributed to the decline in nickel production, the high cost of maintaining the old and obsolete underground mobile equipment and the increase in power tariffs during the period under review.

As for financials, BNC’s topline went down by 33,28 percent to US$49,5 million in 2023 from US$74,2 million in 2022 owing to reduced sales volume.

Compared to the operational profit of US$11.9 million in FY2022, an operating loss of US$21.8 million was recorded.

Losses for the miner were US$24,2 million before taxes and US$18,5 million after taxes, which reflected decreases of 320 percent and 329 percent, respectively, year over year.

BNC’s capital expenditure increased by 27,69 percent to US$8,3 million from US$6,5 million in 2022.

“This was driven by the programme to replace the old and unreliable underground mining mobile equipment and was being funded from bank loans and internal cash flows,” the miner said.

BNC did not declare a dividend in response to the losses and the need to retain cash for capitalisation of the business.    newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw