This month’s Spotlight Feature Article looks at mining lubricants, which continue to ensure optimum mining equipment performance in extreme conditions. While for BEVs, dielectric fluids are a vital part of the mix, which includes TotalEnergies’ Rubia EV fluid: a product that circulates in the module and is in direct contact with the cell to offer the best operating conditions.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) will bring together political and business leaders at a special forum focusing on the global energy transition, and Australia’s role in it, as part of the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) being held in Sydney from October 31-November 2.
The event, consisting of an exclusive roundtable and a panel discussion, will explore the challenge of transitioning to renewable energy while managing the need for low-cost and reliable power generation.
The “Australia Energy Transition Community” roundtable will take place on November 1 for WEF’s mining, energy, finance and public sector members.
It will bring together major players from both the public and private sectors to discuss the opportunities, complexities and realities of the energy transition for Australia. Its aim is to set a clearer pathway forward between the government and the private sector on Australia’s energy transition and critical minerals strategy.
IMARC Conference Director, Sherene Asnasyous, says the WEF initiative highlights IMARC’s role as a key forum to enable the industry to address the issues facing not only Australia, but the global energy sector.
She says IMARC, unlike other industry forums, can bring together stakeholders from across the entire value chain to share their insights, perspectives and solutions on how to achieve a sustainable and prosperous energy future for Australia and the world.
She said: “We are proud that the WEF has chosen IMARC to host this important initiative on the energy transition in Australia. Over its 10 years, IMARC has become the leading forum in Australia to connect industry leaders, politicians, and the broader business community to facilitate conversations to address existential issues facing society.”
Jörgen Sandström, Head, Transforming Industrial Ecosystems at the WEF, will lead the discussion with the hope of better aligning the resource and energy sector across public and private sectors.
Sandström said: “The current paradigm, which we hope to change, is that the energy sector and resource sector, particularly from a government level, operate independently from one another, which results in less effective policy. The transition to renewable energy is a complex challenge that requires a collaborative effort between the public and private sectors and we believe that Australia can lead the world given it’s resource wealth, strong governance systems and highly trained workforce.”
The keynote panel discussion to follow, titled ‘Unlocking Australia’s Energy Transition: From a Global to a Country Perspective’ will feature Sandström and executives from leading mining, energy and finance companies:
The panel will explore the global trends and challenges of the energy transition, and how Australia can leverage its natural resources, innovation and collaboration to achieve its net-zero emissions target and become a global leader in the green economy.
International Mining is a media sponsor of IMARC 2023 and will be in Sydney to report on the event
This month’s Spotlight Feature Article looks at oils and lubricants, which continue to ensure optimum mining equipment performance in extreme conditions. While for BEVs, dielectric fluids are a vital part of the mix, which includes TotalEnergies’ Rubia EV fluid: a product that circulates in the module and is in direct contact with the cell to offer the best operating conditions.
Queensland-based engineering solutions company Global Road Technology has announced an exclusive partnership with TotalEnergies to distribute its dust suppression products.
The new partnership with TotalEnergies Marketing Australia, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies SE, will see it become its exclusive distributor.
TotalEnergies will supply a suite of environmentally safe, sustainable and cutting-edge dust suppression products, designed to stabilise soil while stopping the spread of airborne particulate pollution at mine sites. This partnership will be transformational for GRT, according to GRT CEO, Troy Adams.
“This partnership with TotalEnergies Marketing Australia will be transformational for our business and the entire GRT team is looking forward to the opportunity to significantly build our presence within the Australian and international mining services market,” he said.
“What is becoming apparent is that the reputation of GRT for providing eco-friendly, sustainable and effective products to control particulate pollution for the purpose of protecting the environment, mining site personnel, along with local communities, is growing and was one of the core drivers of this new deal. One of the most exciting elements of our new relationship with TotalEnergies is that it will provide us the ability to promote and grow our autonomous SMART (sustainable, mining, autonomously, reporting technology) Dosing Units that use data and automation to help in mitigating particulate pollution to the mine sites serviced by the wider TotalEnergies network.”
GRT’s product suite of dust suppression, non-toxic chemical applications twinned with its engineered dosing and application techniques has seen it emerge as a national leader in the development of infrastructure and process solutions for the global markets, and sees it well-placed to capitalise on this growth, the company says. Automation is a core focus of GRT’s product offering for the mining sector worldwide with its SMART Dosage Units (SDUs) being one of its most in-demand products.
Adhering to the company’s ISO 9001 certified quality management system, these Australia-manufactured SDUs consist of a central control and satellite communication module. This is combined with electrical and mechanical hardware that provides the ability to remotely control and automate product dosage, error detection, and flow rates – using IoT technology. They are also equipped with Wi-Fi technology to allow for remote management and communication between units to ensure accurate dosage is distributed across the site, minimising wastage and maximising efficacy, it said.
GRT’s ‘whole-of-site’ dust solutions also extends to eco-friendly polymer based products like GRT: Haul-Loc and GRT: Activate that dovetail with these autonomous systems to deliver effective dust control and provide critical data to customers, it added.
TotalEnergies Marketing Australia National Mining Manager, Andrew Druwitt, said: “We are pleased to be appointed as GRT’s exclusive distributor, which complements TotalEnergies Marketing Australia’s mining offer and technical support for its customers. This partnership perfectly illustrates TotalEnergies’ focus on customer centricity by providing innovative products and services which address customer needs and also contribute to their sustainable development strategy.”
TotalEnergies says it will develop a series of photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage projects in New Caledonia for Prony Resources’ operations in the country.
The company will deliver decarbonised electricity via a 25-year renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) for the operations, developing, in successive phases, ground-based PV arrays with installed capacity of 160 MW, as well as 340 MWh of energy battery storage capacity, between 2022 and 2025.
Most of the installations will be located on property owned by the Grand Sud hydrometallurgical plant, TotalEnergies says, with the first PV power plant (30 MW) scheduled to come on stream in 2023.
Ultimately, the project will cover nearly two-thirds of the site’s electricity needs and will help avoid close to 230,000 t of CO2 emissions, according to the company. This project strengthens Prony Resources New Caledonia’s ambition of achieving carbon neutrality by 2040, it said.
The company said: “By combining solar energy and energy storage to replace electricity generated from coal, TotalEnergies is demonstrating its ability to provide a sustainable energy solution to Prony Resources New Caledonia while meeting demanding local, industrial, environmental and social requirements.”
Thierry Muller, CEO of TotalEnergies Renewables France, said: “Prony Resources New Caledonia’s commitment to decarbonisation is both ambitious and pioneering in the industry. We are very proud to support their energy transition, and that of New Caledonia
“As industrial firms, we think and act responsibly. Our two companies are committed to protecting natural resources and biodiversity, and to improving the situation of local communities. With this long-term partnership, we are demonstrating that it is possible to support industrial activity in New Caledonia and participate in a sustainable development approach at the same time.”
Antonin Beurrier, Chairman of Prony Resources New Caledonia, added: “Certainly, one of the most important pathways in our industrial transformation – an orderly and assertive transition of our energy mix towards renewables – allows Prony Resources to ensure that its electric vehicle battery manufacturer customers are supplied with high environmental quality nickel and cobalt while contributing to New Caledonia’s sustainable development.
“The choice of TotalEnergies brings in world-class industrial expertise and opens the door to exciting opportunities and innovations in the years ahead.”
