Independent power producer, Zenith Energy has completed and commissioned its 6 MW build own and operate (BOO) power station expansion at Northern Star Resources’ Jundee gold mine, in the northern Goldfields region of Western Australia.
The 6 MW of expansion capacity at Jundee adds to the existing 19.2 MW, increasing Zenith’s BOO capacity to 25.2 MW, Zenith said. The power station comprises an upgrade to the existing facility with the installation of an added 6 MW of Jenbacher 620 Spark Ignittion gas generator technology.
The station incorporates natural gas fuelled generators, which will provide the Jundee mine with highly efficient, cost effective and clean gas fuelled power generation into the future, according to Zenith.
The Jundee processing circuit is a conventional CIL plant with a hard-rock processing capacity of approximately 1.8 Mt/y. The process consists of a single toggle overhead eccentric swing jaw crusher followed by a SAG and ball milling circuit incorporating gravity recovery and CIP process, achieving 92% recoveries. Northern Star produced 285,000 oz of gold at Jundee in its 2018 financial year.
Zenith said: “This project demonstrates the company’s ability to design, construct, install and commission expansion projects to meet our existing customers’ changing power supply requirements.”
The full commissioning of the Jundee expansion delivers a 6 MW uplift in installed BOO MW capacity in the company’s portfolio, and a corresponding uplift in revenue from the September quarter and going forward, Zenith said.
With the completion of the Jundee expansion, Zenith has established a strong track record for project delivery, with its portfolio of 219 MW of contracted BOO capacity and a total of 438 MW of total power generation capacity under control, it said.
Zenith Managing Director, Hamish Moffat, said: “We are proud to continue our partnership with Northern Star Resources at Jundee through the delivery of the Jundee Expansion Project, and now look forward to delivering additional reliable, cost effective power to support the Jundee gold mine.”