Miners spearhead wave of captive power generation to plug Zim’s energy gap

SAMANTHA MADE

Zimbabwe’s mining companies are driving a wave of captive power generation, transforming themselves from mere electricity consumers into co-developers of energy infrastructure.

The shift, marked by multimillion-dollar investments in solar farms and in-house plants, is shielding miners from crippling blackouts while feeding surplus electricity into the strained national grid.

Energy and Power Development Minister July Moyo hailed the trend as a turning point for the country’s energy security.

“No longer is mining simply a consumer; it is now a co-developer of energy infrastructure,” he said, describing the private sector’s surge into power production as both pragmatic and historic.

The platinum group metals sector has taken the lead.

Zimplats is rolling out a 185MW solar project, one of the largest private renewable investments in Southern Africa. Caledonia Mining’s Blanket Mine has completed a 12.2MW solar plant in Gwanda, already reducing its exposure to outages. Turk Mine has commissioned a 4.4MW facility, while Dinson Iron and Steel Company has installed 50MW of captive capacity at its Manhize steelworks, with plans to expand and eventually export surplus.

“These projects represent a decisive shift towards captive power generation, hybrid energy solutions, and surplus integration into the national grid,” Moyo said.

The context is stark. Zimbabwe requires about 1,700MW daily at peak demand but generates only around 1,400MW. The shortfall is plugged through costly imports from Mozambique, Zambia and South Africa. Hydro generation at Kariba South has been constrained by low water levels, while the ageing coal-fired units at Hwange are prone to breakdowns. The result is rolling power cuts that imperil production.

For mining houses, energy security is existential. Outages can halt operations and inflict multimillion-dollar losses. That reality has prompted firms to take on a responsibility that was once solely the preserve of the state: underwriting the construction of power plants.

Government is also working on complementary projects — including a floating solar park at Kariba and the 22MW Pomona waste-to-energy plant in Harare. Yet Moyo conceded that mining-led initiatives had become indispensable. “The collaboration we are seeing between mining and energy is unprecedented,” he said. “This is the future, where industry invests in securing its own energy while also reinforcing national supply.”

Analysts argue the trend is a reflection of fiscal reality as much as industrial necessity. Zimbabwe remains weighed down by more than US$21bn in debt arrears, cutting it off from traditional international credit lines. With state coffers under strain, mining companies have had to deploy their own balance sheets to fund infrastructure that once fell squarely under government’s remit.

The implications extend beyond Zimbabwe’s borders. The country sits at the heart of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), which links 12 countries in electricity trade. By reducing its own reliance on imports, and potentially adding surplus to the pool, Zimbabwe could move from being a net importer to a stabiliser of regional supply. “Mining investments in energy will feed directly into this regional framework,” Moyo said.

At the same time, global capital markets are tightening pressure on resource producers to decarbonise. Zimbabwe’s output of lithium, nickel and platinum — all critical to the global green transition — faces scrutiny from investors demanding alignment with lower-carbon supply chains. For mining groups, renewable energy investments are therefore serving dual purposes: securing operational continuity and enhancing reputational value. “This is not only about energy security; it is about aligning our mining industry with the global green agenda,” Moyo noted.

Industry insiders say the shift is gathering momentum and may reshape Zimbabwe’s electricity landscape permanently. By embracing captive power generation on an unprecedented scale, miners are not only insulating themselves from risk but also creating a parallel stream of investment that bolsters national resilience.

If sustained, this wave of mining-driven captive power generation could redraw Zimbabwe’s role within southern Africa’s interconnected energy economy — turning one of the region’s most vulnerable power systems into a platform for industrial growth and regional trade.