Tag Archives: Dominican Republic

Austin truck bodies, buckets on their way to Egypt, Ukraine, Argentina and Dominican Republic

Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, , , , , , , ,

Austin Engineering’s growth initiative to expand the company’s presence into new markets appears to be working, with the company having recently won contracts to deliver products to Africa (Egypt), Eastern Europe (Ukraine), and South and Central America (Argentina and the Dominican Republic).

This is the first time in the company’s history that product has been supplied to these countries, it said.

The total value of orders, consisting of truck bodies and buckets, received is in excess of A$6 million ($4.3 million) and is anticipated to provide a springboard for further sales into these markets, the company said. The majority of the orders received by value have been provided from subsidiary companies of large global miners, it noted.

The order received in Egypt was made possible by the Austin ETT joint venture partnership entered into earlier this year. Prior to this partnership, Austin would not have been in the running for this opportunity, further cementing the value in collaborating with the right strategic partners in territories that Austin does not currently have a physical presence, the company said.

In line with this strategy, Austin Engineering has also recently signed a contract with a representative in South America to work with potential clients in Brazil and is in the process of finalising a representative to support Austin in Eastern Europe.

“Both of these markets have a large field population of mining trucks and shovels and could be important markets for Austin in the medium term,” the company said.

Austin Engineering Managing Director, Peter Forsyth, said: “These new territories are important to Austin’s growth aspirations, as there are a number of mining regions around the world that are still largely operating with standard OEM products for truck bodies and excavator buckets. Adoption of Austin’s innovative replacement products in these regions would enhance production metrics significantly.

“Partnerships are proving key to our success in entering these new regions and allow us to leverage our experience with our partners’ commercial contacts to achieve great outcomes for Austin, our clients and our partners.”

Barrick Pueblo Viejo natural gas plant about to power up

Mine operation news, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , ,

Barrick Gold says the Pueblo Viejo power plant is expected to receive its first natural gas in the March quarter as it looks to lower greenhouse gas emissions and cut costs, in line with the group’s clean and efficient energy strategy.

Pueblo Viejo entered into a 10-year supply agreement with AES Andrés DR, SA, in May 2018, for the provision of natural gas and the construction of a gas pipeline from the AES gas terminal to the Quisqueya I power plant for the mine. This is also expected to benefit the San Pedro region which has not previously had access to this cleaner alternative fuel, the company said.

Owned 60% by Barrick and 40% by Newmont Goldcorp, Pueblo Viejo is expected to produce 550,000-600,000 oz of gold in 2019 at all-in sustaining costs of $610-650/oz.

Barrick President and Chief Executive, Mark Bristow, says, since the commissioning of the Quisqueya I power plant, in 2013, Pueblo Viejo has looked for ways to reduce the impact of its air emissions on the environment and the cost of energy production.

“The conversion of Quisqueya I to natural gas will help reduce Pueblo Viejo’s power generation costs by some 30%. Greenhouse gases will also be cut by 30% and nitrogen oxide by 85%, and the mine’s dependence on oil will be significantly decreased,” he said.

The gas pipeline is facilitating the conversion of other power plants in the region to translate into further reduction in greenhouse emissions and significant savings in energy costs within the Dominican national grid, according to Barrick. Recently other power producers in the area have announced the conversion into natural gas of an additional 525 MW, it said.

Barrick said: “Pueblo Viejo is also contributing to the Dominican electricity sector with the construction of the Bonao III power substation as part of a public/private alliance with the Dominican Transmission Entity and Empresa Generadora de Electricidad Haina (EGE Haina) which owns the power plant Quisqueya 2 located next to Quisqueya I. The substation is expected to help to provide more stability to the country’s national grid. Finalisation is scheduled for mid-next year.”

Bristow noted: “The conversion agreement, the natural gas pipeline and the Bonao III substation represent a step forward, not only for Pueblo Viejo but for the Dominicans, as it shows not just environmental benefits, but also a significant reduction of the country’s electricity cost, less dependency on crude oil and more stability for the national power grid.”