| Sourced From |
Johannesburg GOLD FIELDS will capture methane from its Beatrix mine in the Free State and sell 1700 certified emissions reductions (CERs) in a R200m deal that will run until 2016, it said yesterday.
The deal, makes Gold Fields the first gold mining company in the world to sell the CERs – which are financial securities used to trade carbon emissions.
Gold Fields said it would sell the CERs to European energy trading company Mercuria Energy Trading SA.
The contract protects Gold Fields from the fluctuations of the price of carbon credits for at least six years.
CEO Nick Holland yesterday said the credits traded at 15 each. Gold Fields said it would use money from the credits to finance a number of projects linked to the methane capture. The initial phase of the project, which will be completed before the end of this year, would include the construction of a methane extraction system underground and flares above the surface. The company would spend about R42m.
The second phase of the project would entail electricity generation using gas “thereby converting a harmful greenhouse gas into a valuable resource”.
Construction of a power generation plant with the potential to generate about 5MW of electricity is scheduled to start next year.
Related posts: