Canadian company G Mining Ventures has entered a power purchase agreement (PPA) to supply renewable energy for its Tocantinzinho (TZ) gold project in Pará, Brazil.

The PPA was signed between G Mining’s subsidiary Brazauro Recursos Minerais and Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais (CEMIG) and its subsidiary CEMIG Geração e Transmissão.

CEMIG is a Brazilian energy supplier with a 3.3GW generating capacity across hydroelectric, wind and solar.

As part of the PPA, CEMIG has agreed to supply power from March 2024 until the end of 2026.

G Mining will be supplied with more than 100% of the expected power demand at the mine across the phases of commissioning, ramp-up and initial production.

G Mining Ventures president and CEO Louis-Pierre Gignac said: “I am very pleased by the major de-risking milestone of entering this fixed-price PPA with a reliable electricity supplier.

“The low-cost power generated from renewable hydroelectric sources will ensure that TZ is in the lower quartile of the global gold production curve both in terms of cost and carbon emissions.”

The gold mine is currently under construction and is scheduled to begin commercial production in the second half of next year.

Situated in a licence spread across 996km², the Tocantinzinho open-pit gold project is claimed to contain two million ounces of reserves.

After securing environmental approvals, the company announced its decision last September to start construction on the mine.