Tag Archives: renewable energy

Clean and future energy strategies on the IMARC agenda

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Industry experts will discuss how they are managing energy changes and gaining insights on Australia’s critical mineral supply as a part of this year’s International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC), in Melbourne, Australia, later this month.

Clean and future energy strategies and Australia’s critical minerals supply are key topics for IMARC’s 2019 conference, providing attendees with the opportunity to learn from industry leaders.

As rising energy costs and changing perspectives on sustainability and the environment impact on global mining operations continue to have an effect, particularly those within Australia, discussions on the future of clean energy are essential for all industry professionals, IMARC organisers say.

There has been support from mining, METS, government and industry associations collaborating on ways to manage and overcome issues surrounding Australia’s energy mix.

New partnerships are being developed that focus on clean and alternative energy solutions, coupled with strong government backing for exploration, growth and investment in areas such as renewables and the energy mix.

At this year’s conference, attendees can learn how large-scale hybrid systems are affecting mining operations and overall energy efficient goals in a presentation by juwi Renewable Energy’s Global Head of Hybrid, David Manning, as a part of the energy session. SIMEC Energy Australia Chief Executive, Marc Barrington (pictured), will discuss the company’s renewable focuses for 2020 and beyond.

“The price of energy is a critical input cost in the development of the mining and resources sector in Australia,” Barrington said.

“The National Electricity Market (NEM) is transitioning from fossil-fuel dominated supply to one of renewables backed with storage technologies and is daily dealing with the ‘energy trilemma’ – delivering emissions and price reductions as well as improving reliability.

“This transition is creating input cost uncertainty.

“Mining and resource sector companies can play a critical role in the NEM transition through partnering with businesses such as SIMEC and applying a strategic focus on electricity procurement to access better input cost solutions.

“SIMEC is seeking to create ‘win-win’ customer outcomes and is keen to work closely with all of our customers to achieve this and to enable crucial demand-side response capabilities.

“Securing demand response can reduce the price of electricity as well as improve NEM reliability.”

Barrington remains confident strategic procurement “can secure energy price outcomes at globally competitive prices for Australian businesses trying to compete on the world stage”.

The Energy session will enable professionals to gain insights on what funding and investments are going into the development and deployment of clean energy solutions as well as benefit from government and industry insights into the supply of critical minerals in Australia.

IMARC, developed in collaboration with its founding partners the Victorian State Government of Australia, Austmine, AusIMM and Mines and Money, is where global mining leaders connect with technology, finance and the future. For more information, please visit https://imarcmelbourne.com/

International Mining is a media sponsor of the IMARC event

B2Gold to soak up solar power at Fekola gold mine

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B2Gold, in its June quarter results, has provided an update on its plans to install a solar plant at its Fekola gold mine in Mali.

The company said it completed a preliminary study to evaluate the technical and economic viability of adding a solar plant to the site, during the quarter, with the results indicating it was a very “solid project” and that a plant of around 30 MW of solar generating capacity with a significant battery storage component would provide the best economic result.

A second study has now been completed to establish the detailed capital and operating cost analysis for the project. Results indicated that a solar plant can provide significant operating cost reductions (estimated to reduce processing costs by some 7%), with the project approved by the B2Gold Board in the June quarter.

The company said: “The Fekola Solar Plant will be one of the largest off-grid hybrid solar/heavy fuel oil (HFO) plants in the world.

“It is expected that it will allow for three HFO generators to be shut down during daylight hours, which will save about 13.1 million litres of HFO per year, at a capital cost of approximately $38 million, of which $20 million is expected to be incurred in 2019, with the balance in 2020.”

The solar plant is scheduled for completion in August 2020 and has a four-year payback, B2Gold said.

At Fekola, the company is currently weighing up an expansion that could see the life of mine could extend into 2030, including significant estimated increases in average annual gold production to over 550,000 oz/y during the five-year period 2020-2024 and over 400,000 oz/y over the life of mine (2019-2030).

Back in May 2018, B2Gold celebrated the official opening of the Otjikoto gold mine solar plant, in Namibia, one of the first fully autonomous hybrid plants in the world.

At the time, B2Gold said it would allow the company to significantly reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from the site’s current 24 MW HFO power plant. The shift to a HFO solar hybrid plant was, at that point, expected to reduce Otjikoto’s HFO consumption by around 2.3 million litres and reduce associated power generation fuel costs by approximately 10% in 2018.

In the company’s 2018 results, B2Gold said the plant was now providing close to 13% of the electricity consumed on site and the plant had achieved its expected HFO consumption and power generation fuel cost results.

Aggreko and Wärtsilä to bring ‘completely new concept’ to power market

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Just a day after announcing the launch of its new Modular Block, Wärtsilä has entered into a co-operation agreement with Aggreko to introduce “a completely new concept to the power market” built around the power plant solution.

This pre-fabricated, modular, and expandable enclosure features medium-speed Wärtsilä 32 and 34 family engines which can run on a variety of fuels and, as a re-deployable power generation solution, enables new business and financing models, such as power as a service or rentals, according to Wärtsilä.

“The Wärtsilä Modular Block solution can be installed in a matter of weeks, and can be expanded to accommodate increased energy needs. Similarly, it can be dismantled and relocated to alternative locations as and when required, making it highly suited to temporary power generation,” Wärtsilä said.

Under the agreement, Wärtsilä will provide the technology and design for the core power generation equipment, with Aggreko, a leading provider of mobile modular power, temperature control and energy services, incorporating Wärtsilä’s Modular Block enclosure and power generation within its Rental/Power Solutions sales offering.

According to Wärtsilä, the use of its medium-speed engines in the Modular Block introduces a totally new efficiency dimension to the temporary power market. “This results in major savings in fuel consumption and operating costs, while harmful greenhouse gas emissions are considerably reduced.”

Furthermore, the solution is easy to integrate with renewable energy and storage systems, making it ideal for providing grid stability and balancing when integrating more intermittent renewable energy sources. The medium-size engines can run on natural gas, as well as biofuel for a fully sustainable solution.

Jean Nabb, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Wärtsilä Energy Business, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Aggreko to enter this rapidly growing market. Aggreko is the global leader in mobile, modular power, and the Wärtsilä Modular Block solution opens up exciting new opportunities both for stationary and temporary electricity generation of up to 100 MW.”

Stephane Le Corre, Strategy and Commercial Development Director, Aggreko, said: “We recognise the growing market for distributed generation, and the increasing need for new thermal power solutions that are cost-comparable with permanent generation. We see a number of potential applications for Wärtsilä’s Modular Block on projects of typically five-to-10 year duration, with its ability to achieve high levels of efficiency, while still being re-deployable.”

Sun shines on Newmont Goldcorp’s sustainability efforts

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Newmont Goldcorp has published its 2018 sustainability report, which has shown why the company continues to rank near the top of several indices measuring mining companies’ global footprint.

The company, which completed the acquisition of Goldcorp only last week, shared several insights into its sustainability goals and achievements in the report, with its solar energy success notable.

Last year, the company installed a new solar plant at its Akyem gold mine in Ghana. The 120 kW plant, which has four of Cambridge Energy Partners’ Nomad solar PV trackers included, will power the camp and mess hall during daylight hours, Newmont Goldcorp said.

“It has a 25-year asset life and is redeployable, so it can be disassembled and moved to another location at closure,” the company said.

Initial data has shown measurable cost, environmental and social benefits, according to the gold miner. Over five months, the plant produced more than 75,000 kWh of solar energy, resulting in a reduction of more than 32,000 kg of CO2, it said, adding that the plant is expected to produce energy at half the cost of grid power.

On top of this, the miner said it was negotiating with Ghana’s Volta River Authority on a purchase power agreement for 8 MW of solar power.

In Nevada, US, meanwhile, the company’s Phoenix mine installed solar arrays that will generate a total of 10 kW of power for two wireless communications sites.

Additional solar projects are under evaluation at Tanami (Australia), which completed the construction of a natural gas project recently, and the Merian mine in Suriname, the company said.

These current projects are just some of the initiatives the company has put in place at its operations.

As of the end of 2018, the company said it had reduced our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity by 11.7% compared with its 2013 baseline. This is around 70% of its public target to reduce GHG emissions intensity by 16.5% (compared with 2013) by 2020. These numbers do not include any data from Goldcorp.

Completion of the Tanami power project in Australia is expected to reduce its GHG emissions intensity over the next two years, the company said. “We also continue to evaluate fuel switching (from coal to natural gas) at our TS Power Plant in Nevada.”

Anglo’s O’Neill sets 12-month goal for hydrogen-fuelled trucks

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During Anglo American’s 2018 sustainability performance presentation this week, Technical Director, Tony O’Neill, said the company was working on an innovative solution to power haul trucks by hydrogen using solar panels.

By oversizing the photovoltaic generation capacity at a site, the company would be able to capture enough hydrogen to potentially power a haul truck.

O’Neill said this was all part of the company’s plan to create a “smart energy mix that allows us to become carbon neutral”.

“That leads us straight to hydrogen,” he said.

The approach the company is working on required a different mindset from O’Neill and his team.

“What some in my team have done is say, ‘OK, we’re not worried about a return. As long as the project washes its face, what does that do?’ And, what does it do, particularly, if you oversize your power consumption enough that you can actually generate hydrogen?”

The decision-making process changes with such a viewpoint, he said.

“All of a sudden, we had enough hydrogen, so we could stick it in our trucks. We looked at the trucks and re-engineered the way they work. Voila, we found we could get 5-10% more out of our trucks,” he said.

And, this line of thinking and re-engineering has allowed O’Neill to make a bold statement:

“Our aim, is to get, hopefully, in the next 12 months, a truck running around using hydrogen.”

Solutions like these could provide energy security, price resilience, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, move Anglo to a “hydrogen economy”, and help it develop the next generation mining vehicles, the company said.

Holman Wilfley shakes up manufacturing base with solar installation

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Holman Wilfley, as part of its continuing environmental policy development, has completed the installation of the first 20 kW array of solar photovoltaic panels to power its main assembly factory in Pool, England.

In addition to supplying its factory, the installation will also allow surplus natural energy to feed back to the grid, contributing to government targets for clean energy generation, Holman Wilfley said.

“Our gravity machine assembly processes will make use of this clean element of energy for general operations, and testing,” the company said. “This will help Holman Wilfley reduce its carbon footprint and environmental impact.”

With this installation, the company says it can assist the mining sector’s drive for sustainability, joining a community of 140,000 independent green energy generators.

Holman Wilfley supplies gravity separation technology to the minerals, metals and recycling industries.

Its shaking tables provide efficient gravity separation of fine minerals in the mining space, with its customers currently using this equipment to produce concentrates of gold (alluvial and milled ore), tin, tungsten, tantalum and chromite. In these operations, the tables are usually used as the final stage in gravity circuits.

The company’s gravity separation equipment is also found throughout the mineral sands space, where the tables are often the primary concentrating technology.

Renewable energy use can bring savings to Africa mining sector, report claims

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THEnergy and Voltalia’s latest report on the use of renewable energy in the Africa mining sector says the industry can realise significant cost savings when employing these power solutions.

The authors said the mining sector has shifted from phase one – where the focus of renewable power adoption was on integrating and testing out the reliability of these solutions – to phase two – where potential cost savings are being considered.

“In the last few years, more and more mining companies have adopted wind and solar systems to reduce their energy costs at remote off-grid mines,” THEnergy and Voltalia said. “In this first phase, the initial focus was on the integration capabilities as miners were afraid that adding intermittent renewables such as solar and wind could affect the reliability of power supply and even lead to production losses.”

In various microgrid applications, renewables combined with diesel, heavy fuel oil (HFO), or gas have proven to provide reliable power supply to remote mines, according to the two firms.

“For almost all mines, the integration of renewables will have a positive impact on their energy cost position. Mining companies do not have to invest their own money; independent power providers (IPPs) invest in the renewable energy infrastructure and sell electricity to mines through power purchase agreements (PPAs),” THEnergy and Voltalia explained.

Thomas Hillig, Managing Director of THEnergy, a consultancy focused on microgrids/mini-grids and off-grid renewable energy, said this second market phase is characterised by price competition.

“With the support of a leading renewable energy player, the new report analyses how IPPs can offer extremely competitive PPAs to remote miners,” he said.

Large IPPs take advantage of economies of scale on components for solar and wind power plants not only for remote mining projects but also for much bigger grid-connected plants, the two firms said.

“Market leaders have managed to optimise the planning and construction processes substantially. However, conducting projects in remote locations, especially in Africa, requires an extended experience,” they added. Among the challenges of undertaking projects in Africa is financing, which requires relationships with local and international banks, according to THEnergy and Voltalia.

“Cost optimisation does not necessarily mean minimising capital expenditure but rather focusing on the total lifetime of the project and including operation and maintenance. It is also important to take the interplay of the different energy sources into consideration. Not every kWh of solar and wind energy generated means equivalent fossil fuel savings. When gensets run at suboptimal loads, they lose efficiency and require additional maintenance,” the two firms said.

Alexis Goybet, Head of Hybrid Solutions at Voltalia, a player in the renewable energy sector, said his company has much experience in renewable energy projects, including solar-diesel hybrid microgrids, projects in remote locations and in developing countries.

“Our experience adds up to our economies of scale in procurement and translates into significant overall cost-reductions in the range of 20-30% in comparison to new market entrants,” he said.

These overall cost reductions will make solar and wind energy extremely attractive for many mines, according to the two firms, with the number of remote mines adding renewables to diesel, HFO or gas expected to grow quickly all over Africa.

There are already several mining companies that have made – or are planning to make – this transition in Africa, as can be seen by the map above (credit: THEnergy, Voltalia). This includes Resolute Mining and its Syama underground gold mine in Mali, Newmont Mining and its Akyem gold mine in Ghana and B2Gold and its Otjikoto operation in Namibia.

In the past month alone, Barrick Gold and GoviEx Uranium have also stated plans to use hybrid solutions at their Loulo and Madaouela assets, respectively.

Barrick’s Loulo gold operation readies for introduction of off-grid solar hybrid plant

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Barrick Gold is to install a 24 MW off-grid solar hybrid plant to support its existing 63 MW thermal power station at the Loulo mine in Mali as it looks to cut costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the operation.

The renewable energy project is part of Barrick’s wider strategy of moving away from thermal power in Africa, where lack of infrastructure means many mines rely on self-generated diesel energy, making this their largest cost item, the company said.

“Utilising hydropower in the Democratic Republic of Congo, grid power in Côte d’Ivoire, and heavy-fuel baseload generators in Mali, Barrick has already cut its energy costs significantly, and the continuing roll-out of renewable energy sources will ensure that its future needs are met in the most cost-efficient and environmentally friendly manner,” Barrick said.

The solar feasibility study at Loulo forecasted that the photovoltaic plant will replace 50,000 MWh/y of thermal generation, saving 10 million litres/y of fuel and reducing CO² emissions by 42,000 t over the same period. The introduction of the solar component is also expected to cut the complex’s energy cost by around 2 cents/kWh.

Construction of the project—which meets Barrick’s investment criteria of generating at least a 20% internal rate of return—will start later this year. The plant is scheduled for commissioning in late 2020.

“The plant will use the latest weather prediction models, which will enable the power management system to switch between thermal and solar without compromising the micro-grid,” Barrick said.

Barrick’s 80%-owned Loulo-Gounkoto operation is expected to produce 520,000-570,000 oz of gold in 2019 at all-in sustaining costs of $810-850/oz.

Lion One and meeco plan solar/diesel power solution at Tuvatu gold project in Fiji

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Lion One Metals has partnered with Switzerland-based clean energy provider the meeco Group to build and install a hybrid solar/diesel power plant at the Tuvatu gold project, in Fiji.

As part of this agreement, Lion One will be a 50% shareholder of a Special Project Vehicle (SPV) through an agreed buy-in structure.

Lion One will use meeco’s 7 MW peak “sun2live” solar power generation system, coupled with diesel generators, to generate up to 11 MW peak power production providing a continuous 24-hour source of power for the Tuvatu gold mine and processing plant. The installation will be built on 4.1 ha of unused land 3.5 km from the project and 17 km from the Nadi International Airport.

The new eco-friendly solar power system will have an estimated annual energy production of approximately 10.31 GWh, displacing more than 6,000 t/y of CO2 emissions, according to Lion One.

Lion One Managing Director, Stephen Mann, said: “meeco has a solid track record of installing and operating solar hybrid power plants worldwide. This hybrid system will not only reduce our carbon footprint, but will enable Lion One to meet our power capacity requirements while significantly reducing fuel consumption and operating costs for the Tuvatu gold project.”

Tuvatu is the largest undeveloped gold project in Fiji and one of highest-grade gold projects anywhere in the world, according to Lion One, with the company focused on building production of 100,000 oz/y over 10 years.

The process facility is designed with a nominal capacity of 219,000 t/y for a nominal design rate of 600 t/d based on an overall availability of 91% with a life of mine average feed grade of 11.3 g/t Au.

Canada renews northern energy pledge with investments in TUGLIQ projects

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The Government of Canada has backed two new projects that could see an increase in the amount of renewable energy used on remote mine sites in the country’s north.

Paul Lefebvre, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, this week announced a combined C$4.2-million ($3.2 million) investment for two TUGLIQ Energy Corp projects in Nunavut and Quebec.

An investment of C$283,000 will enable TUGLIQ to complete a front-end engineering and design study to integrate compressed air energy storage with its operations, enabling increased use of wind energy at a Nunavut mine – IM understands this to be the TMAC Resources-owned Hope Bay gold project.

“This project will demonstrate that such a system can achieve significant reductions in diesel consumption,” the Government of Canada said.

A second investment of C$3.9 million in RAGLAN 2.0 will expand Nunavik’s first renewable energy production and storage centre (wind turbine pictured) for 16 regional mining operations and Inuit communities in this Arctic region, as well as other mining operations abroad.

RAGLAN 2.0, builds on a prior landmark project, RAGLAN 1.0, which conclusively proved the technical and operational capabilities of industrial-scale renewable energy at northern sites (Glencore’s Raglan nickel mine), under harsh industrial and climatic conditions, according to Natural Resources Canada (NRC).

With energy storage consisting of a flywheel to level-off any speed fluctuations and stabilise the strain and frequency of the autonomous grid, 250 kWh lithium-ion batteries to support the grid, a hydrogen loop comprised of an electrolyser, high pressure storage tanks and fuel cells, a microcontroller and supervisory control and data acquisition for remote monitoring, the project has so far been a success. In 2018, TUGLIQ doubled its installed wind capacity at the Raglan mine. A total of 6 MW is now up and running, producing clean electricity from wind energy in this remote area of the Canadian Arctic. More than 4 million litres of diesel is being avoided every year.

It involves project partners Enercon, Glencore Raglan mine, HATCH Ltd, Moreau Electrique and Québec’s Ministry of Natural Resources – EcoPerformance Program.

Both projects are being funded through NRC’s Energy Innovation Program, which received C$49 million over three years to support clean energy innovation, and “will ensure that clean energy technologies are widely affordable — helping drive economic growth, create jobs and help with the transition to a low-carbon economy”, the NRC said.

“Through Canada’s national energy dialogue, Generation Energy, Canadians expressed that Canada has an opportunity to be a leader in the transition to a clean growth economy. We will continue to support innovative and clean initiatives that create jobs for the middle class, support Canadian industry competitiveness, clean our air and act on climate change.”