• Wärtsilä renews three-year O&M contract for Tasiast mine power plant
• Agreement covers a 60 MW hybrid power facility operating since 2013
• Deal follows another three-year performance contract with SOMELEC

Finnish energy group Wärtsilä is continuing its operations in Mauritania through long-term contracts covering key power infrastructure. On Thursday, December 18, the company announced the renewal of a three-year operation and maintenance agreement with Tasiast Mauritanie Limited S.A., a subsidiary of Canada’s Kinross Gold Corporation.

The agreement covers a 60 MW power plant supplying electricity to the Tasiast mining site, located about 300 kilometers north of Nouakchott. Commissioned in 2013, the plant has been operated and maintained by Wärtsilä since its construction. The renewed contract includes a performance-based mechanism introduced during the site’s expansion in 2022, designed to align energy performance with the mine’s operational and commercial objectives.

The facility operates within an isolated hybrid grid combining solar power, battery storage, and thermal generation. It provides both baseload power and spinning reserve, ensuring stable electricity supply for the mining site.

The renewal comes weeks after another agreement signed in Mauritania. In late November, the country’s national electricity utility, SOMELEC, signed a separate three-year guaranteed performance contract with Wärtsilä for the 34 MW Nouadhibou thermal power plant. That deal expanded an existing partnership by adding formal performance commitments, enhanced maintenance arrangements, and continuous operational support.

Both contracts involve strategic energy assets that support power supply for the country’s economic capital and the operation of a major industrial mining site. They come at a time when securing reliable electricity remains a central issue for maintaining economic activity.

According to the 2024 report by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Mauritania, the mining sector accounts for about 25% of government budget revenue and nearly 80% of national exports. The report also notes that Tasiast ranked among the country’s top two extractive companies in terms of revenues paid to the state in 2024. In this context, the reliability of power infrastructure is critical for mining operations, alongside grid stability in major urban centers.

Abdoullah Diop