Pan African Resources : Evander Mines solar photovoltaic plant update

Pan African Resources PLC

(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales under Companies Act 1985 with registered number 3937466 on 25 February 2000)

Share code on AIM: PAF

Share code on JSE: PAN

ISIN: GB0004300496

ADR ticker code: PAFRY

(Pan African or the Company or the Group)

Evander Mines solar photovoltaic plant update

Pan African is pleased to announce that it has entered into an engineering, procurement and construction agreement with juwi South Africa to construct its 9.975MW solar photovoltaic plant at Evander Mines (“Evander Mines solar photovoltaic plant”). Construction will commence in the first quarter of 2021, with first power expected in the third calendar quarter of 2021.

Part of the international juwi Group, juwi South Africa is one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies. To date, juwi South Africa has built six utility scale solar plants totalling 207 MW under the South African Government's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme (REIPPP). The juwi Group, headquartered in Germany, and its international subsidiaries has completed over 1700 solar plants globally with a cumulative power of more than 3,000 megawatts.

The Evander Mines solar photovoltaic plant will utilise bi-facial module technology to maximise its yield and it will be constructed on previously disturbed land owned by Evander Mines.  The Evander Mines solar photovoltaic plant will provide an estimated 30% of Elikhulu’s power requirement during daylight hours and is expected to materially reduce electricity costs at this operation. Furthermore, the Evander solar photovoltaic plant is expected to enhance the reliability of the power supply during daylight hours and result in an expected CO2 saving of more than 26,000 tons in its first year of its operation.

The total cost of the Evander solar photovoltaic plant is ZAR140 million, with a calculated payback on this investment of less than 5 years.

This solar photovoltaic plant further reduces Elikhulu’s environmental impact and is just one of a number of initiatives in the Group’s commitment to producing high-margin ounces in a safe and efficient manner, while investing in local communities and minimising the environmental impact of operations.

Pan African is also assessing the merits of expanding the Evander Mines solar photovoltaic plant in due course to provide for a clean energy feed to its Egoli Project, and of a similar solar photovoltaic plant at the Group’s Barberton Mines.

“The Evander Mines solar photovoltaic plant is integral to the Group’s purpose of “Mining for a Future” and pursuing ESG initiatives that go beyond compliance.  This plant will be one of the first of its kind in the South African mining space.   We look forward to commissioning the operation during 2021, on budget and on schedule.” - Cobus Loots.  

The information contained in this update is the responsibility of the Pan African board of directors and has not been reviewed or reported on by the Group’s external auditors.

Rosebank

15 December 2020

Certain information communicated in this announcement was, prior to its publication, inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014.

For further information on Pan African and its ESG initiatives, please visit the Company's website at www.panafricanresources.com

Contact information
Corporate Office The Firs Office Building 2nd Floor, Office 204 Cnr. Cradock and Biermann Avenues Rosebank, Johannesburg South Africa Office:   + 27 (0)11 243 2900 [e-mail]	Registered Office Suite 31 Second Floor 107 Cheapside London EC2V 6DN United Kingdom Office: + 44 (0)20 7796 8644
Cobus Loots      Pan African Resources PLC    Chief Executive Officer  Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900	Deon Louw Pan African Resources PLC Financial Director Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900
Phil Dexter/Jane Kirton St James's Corporate Services Limited Company Secretary Office: + 44 (0)20 7796 8644	Ross Allister/David McKeown Peel Hunt LLP Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker Office: [phone]
Ciska Kloppers Questco Corporate Advisory Proprietary Limited JSE Sponsor Office: + 27 (0)11 011 9200	Thomas Rider/Neil Elliot BMO Capital Markets Limited Joint Broker Office: [phone]
Hethen Hira Pan African Resources PLC Head: Investor Relations Tel: + 27 (0)11 243 2900 E-mail: [e-mail]	Website: www.panafricanresources.com