Torex Gold Announces Solar Plant Construction

Torex Gold has entered a commercial lease agreement with Scatec, to build a new 8.5-megawatt solar plant at its Morelos property, according to the company.

Torex Gold’s Morelos property where the plant is expected to be built, includes the El Limón Guajes mine and the Media Luna project. The new plant is expected to reduce Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by up to 8.6 percent using 2019 as the baseline year, according to Torex Gold’s press release.

The company recently received approval from SEMARNAT for the modification of its environmental permit for its Media Luna project, allowing the company to continue building beyond its previous permit and to carry out other initial works to access the deposit, as reported by MBN. This US$464 million project is owned by Canadian company Torex Gold and is scheduled to begin gold extraction in 2024 as reported.

In a recent interview with MBN, Faysal Rodríguez Vice President Mexico of Torex Gold mentioned that at Media Luna, they are drilling 44,000m this year to include the results in its feasibility study which will be released in 1Q22 of next year. While at El Limón Guajes, a US$13 million exploration investment has been budgeted for this year. “El Limón Guajes’s open pit will be depleted in 2023. We are planning a smooth transition to the operation of Media Luna in 2024. Right now, our plan is to process a low-grade stockpile to fill that gap in 2023 and early 2024” he stated.

In regards to the new solar plant, Jody Kuzenko, President and CEO of Torex stated “We are very pleased to partner with Scatec on this new solar plant, our first major foray into renewable energy at our operations. The new facility will complement our existing power supply with a renewable energy source that demonstrates we are serious about reducing our carbon footprint, with a view toward carbon neutrality over time.” Kuzenko said the company has committed its part to combat climate change and limit the environmental footprint of its operations. “As such, we are developing a climate change strategy with associated targets and metrics and looks forward to disclosing a standalone Climate Report aligned with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures”.

The commercial lease agreement with Scatec will be for a 10-year period with an automatic renewal for successive five-year periods and options for buy-out starting after the expiry of year three. The installation cost of the new plant will be approximately US$5 million. This includes transportation of equipment, earthworks, installation and commissioning, and permitting costs.