Tag Archives: fuel

Wärtsilä takes on power plant performance contract at Lihir gold mine

Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wärtsilä is to help optimise the performance of the Lihir gold mine’s 170 MW power plant, in Papua New Guinea, as part of a 10-year tailored guaranteed asset performance agreement signed with Lihir Gold Ltd, part of Newcrest Mining.

The agreement has shared business case incentives based on key performance indicators (KPIs), which reduce operational cost and enhance power availability, supporting the mine’s production targets, according to Wärtsilä.

The 10-year agreement, worth over €150 million ($183 million), was signed in October and is targeted to take effect from the end of the March quarter. The expected revenues for 24 months of operation, some €20 million, have been included in Wärtsilä’s order book in the December quarter.

Lihir’s 170 MW power plant provides a critical electricity supply to run the operations of the mine. It has 22 Wärtsilä engines, of which the last one was commissioned in 2013.

The incentivised KPIs will lead to an increase in revenue and a reduction in operational cost, according to Wärtsilä, with the partnership enabling Lihir Gold to focus on gold production while Wärtsilä takes care of optimising the power plant performance.

The agreement will also provide the customer with maintenance and parts cost predictability, including a reduction in working capital.

The agreement includes full technical support, real-time monitoring of the equipment from Wärtsilä’s Expertise Centres, condition-based maintenance and asset diagnostic reporting, operational advisory support, as well as all planned and unplanned maintenance of the generator sets and auxiliaries. The agreement KPIs with shared incentives are based on fuel and oil consumption and power availability, with the option to adjust these KPIs by mutual agreement should the market change.

Daniel May, Manager – Power, Utilities, Projects & Engineering, Lihir, Newcrest Mining, said: “During the initial market engagement process, it was determined that Wärtsilä’s experience, track record and capabilities in Papua New Guinea made them the best partner to further develop the partnership agreement that has now been signed. This is a flexible solution that delivers incentives and benefits to both parties.”

Henri van Boxtel, Energy Business Director, Wärtsilä Energy, added: “This agreement takes a holistic approach to the plant’s operations and maintenance, and reflects the importance of the strategic partnership between Wärtsilä and the customer. By linking the availability and performance of the power generating plant to the mine’s productivity, we are establishing a flexible and beneficial business case that promotes efficiency and delivers real value over the entire lifecycle of the power plant. We are at the same time aiming to increase the reliability of the electrical supply, which can help raise the mine’s output.”

The total installed base of Wärtsilä’s power generating equipment in a number of projects in Papua New Guinea is 381 MW, of which 170 MW has been supplying power to Lihir Gold.

Banlaw automates fuel-consuming asset data capture and analysis with BOB

Automation, Communications in mining, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mining consumables, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , ,

Banlaw has announced the launch of Banlaw On-Board (BOB), a portable device that, it says, enables mine sites to automatically capture and analyse usage and consumption data for every fuel-consuming asset.

“Currently, data collection is a manual process that is time consuming, requires a different method for each type of mining equipment and is prone to errors,” the company says. “Inaccurate data and poor visibility contribute to unscheduled breakdown events, excessive fuel usage, and underutilised assets. BOB overcomes these issues by delivering an automated, unified data collection process.”

The device gathers key machine use data then calculates accurate odometer and engine hours information. The data is wirelessly transmitted each time the equipment is refuelled, requiring no human involvement or manual data collection processes, according to Banlaw.

“With BOB, insights can be viewed using the suite of reports included with Banlaw’s ResTrack RMS software and leveraged for maintenance scheduling and optimisation tasks,” it said.

Steve Tritten, Banlaw Mining Manager, said: “By automating the data collection process, mine sites gain optimum visibility and actionable insights, empowering them to make critical business decisions that reduce fuel waste, enable predictive maintenance and boost productivity.”

SKF acquires cleantech company focused on industrial lubrication

Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining maintenance, Mining mergers and acquisitions, , , ,

SKF, a global supplier of bearings, seals, mechatronics, lubrication systems, and services, has acquired RecondOil Sweden AB, cleantech company that has developed a chemical filtration and rejuvenation process for industrial lubrication fluid and slop oil.

The acquisition is set to strengthen SKF’s lubrication management business and rotating equipment performance offering, the company said, adding that RecondOil posted turnover of SEK10 million (1.06 million) in 2017.

Alrik Danielson, President and CEO of SKF, said: “This acquisition is a good strategic fit for us. It complements our existing offer around the rotating shaft and will strengthen our ability to offer customers a fee-based value proposition, in which lubrication management systems play an important role.

“The acquisition is also in-line with our ambition to develop and offer solutions that help customers reduce the environmental impact of their own operations. By bringing together RecondOil’s technology with SKF’s scope and industrial expertise, we will be able to industrialise this offering.”

Newmont Mining still weighing up LNG/diesel dual-fuel options

Base metals, Coal technology, Environmental, Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining, , , ,

The use of LNG in the engines of mining haul trucks has been gaining serious traction of late with OEMs and mining companies, alike, considering dual-fuel options.

Newmont Mining stated in its 2017 sustainability report, released back in April, that it and Caterpillar were looking at such a project as part of the US-based mining company’s attempt to decrease its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The company believes the advancement of dual-fuel engines on haul trucks could displace, on average, 65% of diesel fuel with LNG.

A Newmont spokesman told IM this week that the company is still in the process of evaluating an LNG option and, at some point, it may “take the next step towards a meaningful pilot project”.

Teck Resources carried out such a trial at its Fording River coal operations in British Columbia, Canada.

The pilot test, which used a hybrid LNG/diesel fuel system in six haul trucks and concluded in December 2016, provided many valuable learnings to Teck, including “utilising LNG safely and integrating new technologies at our operations”, Greg Brouwer, General Manager, Technology and Innovation, recently told IM.

“While the particular LNG technology used in this pilot did not achieve the targeted emission reduction benefits, we remain committed to exploring the use of LNG as a haul truck fuel source to reduce GHG emissions and costs and we are currently assessing other technologies,” he said. (You can read more about Teck’s latest innovations in the upcoming IM October issue)

Just last month, GFS Corp reported increased interest in its EVO-MT® System for off-highway machinery. Much of this renewed interest is coming from the mining sector where the company’s products allow haul trucks, wheel loaders and drill rigs to operate on a combination of diesel and LNG or NG+D® as the company refers to it, GFS said.