11 Recently Announced Renewables in Mining Projects

Granny Smith Mine (photo courtesy Gold Fields)

• Mining Company: Gold Fields

• Developer/Installer/EPC: Aggreko

• Mine: Granny Smith Gold Mine, 720KM NE of Perth, Western Australia

• Renewable Energy: Solar, Storage

• Date: Announced June 26, 2018.

• Details: Aggreko to develop a 7.3MW solar power generation with 2MW/1MW battery system. The system to be integrated with existing 21MW gas power station as a hybrid power station. The daily power needs of the mine are 24.2MW. 8MW is allocated to the underground mine, the remaining 16.2MW is for the processing plant, associated facilities and mine camp.

Cannington Mine (photo courtesy South32)

• Mining Company: South32

• Developer/Installer/EPC: SunShift, EDL

• Mine: Cannington Silver/Lead/Zinc underground Mine, Queensland, Australia

• Renewable Energy: Solar

• Date: Currently under construction. Commercial operation 2018.

• Details: Off-grid gas, solar, hybrid power plant. 3MW of solar PV from SunShift integrated in to the current pipeline supplied EDL gas power station. Average power demand of 22MW.

Mining Company: Agnico Eagle

Renewable Energy: Wind, Diesel, Hybrid

Date: Current Feasibility

Details: Currently working with Hatch and BBA on a feasibility study for 1 to up to 6 turbines for maximum of 21MW capacity. In parallel, Agnico is also working with energy developers and other partners in evaluating an innovative high penetration wind farm of up to 40MW with large scale storage system. Mining in the arctic costs approximately 2 to 2.5 times more than typical southern mining sites. Cost to produce electricity represents 10% to 15% of Agnico’s operation costs / oz for the Nunavut platform. The upcoming carbon tax will be an additional burden to their operations. Agnico is actively studying many technologies to reduce its reliance on fossil fuel and the deployment of a wind farm is identified as the best promising solution.

Hevel off-grid plant (photo courtesy Hevel)

• Mining Company: Polymetal

• Developer/Installer/EPC: Hevel Group

• Mine: Khabarovsk Region, Eastern Russia

• Renewable Energy: Solar

• Date: Announced April 2018

• Details: The 1MW off-grid solar PV plant will generate 1.2 GWh annually for this remote Russian mine.

Photo courtesy SunShift

• Mining Company: New Century Resources

• Developer/Installer/EPC: SunShift

• Mine: Century Zinc MIne, Queensland, Australia

• Renewable Energy: Solar

• Date: Announced November 2017

• Details: The SunShift 120KW array will supply power to the mine and zinc processing site for less than $120/MWh under a flexible power purchase agreement. New Century are currently paying $400/MWh to run diesel equipment. The company is looking at installing up to 15 MW of solar over the next few years.

Mining Company: Goldcorp

Mine: Cerro Negro, Santa Cruz, Argentina

Renewable Energy: Wind

Date: Agreement signed August 2017

Details: A Goldcorp Wind/Diesel project with a large community component. The Cerro Negro mine will lead the construction of a mixed energy farm (wind and diesel) and will complete the educational hub in Perito within the framework of the UNIRSE Program, a trust between the Province of Santa Cruz and mining companies to finance social investment and health programs and projects which contribute to the sustainable development in the province.

Port Gregory (photo courtesy GMA Garnet)

• Mining Company: GMA Garnet

• Mine: Port Gregory, near Kalbarri, Western Australia

• Renewable Energy: Solar and Wind

• Date: Announced July 4th 2017

• Details: GMA Garnet signed a long term PPA with Advanced Energy Resources (AER) to construct a 3MW wind and solar farm in Western Australia. The project will initially supply nearly 70 per cent of the mine’s electricity requirements and transition Perth based GMA Garnet into becoming supplied by 100% renewable energy. It will be the first grid connected wind and solar farm with battery storage in Western Australia

Photo courtesy Acciona

• Mining Company: ENAMI

• Mine: All operations in the regions of Antofagasta, Atacama and Coquimbo, plus the Fundición Hernán Videla Lira foundry

• Renewable Energy: Wind and Solar

• Date: Announced July 3rd 2018

• Details: The National Mining Company of Chile (ENAMI) awarded ACCIONA Energía its electricity supplies from renewable energy sources starting in April 2018, under a long-term deal. The PPA contract will cover 100% of the electricity consumption of ENAMI’s plants, for which ACCIONA will build a new photovoltaic plant in the north of the country.

Mining Company: Antofagasta/Barrick Gold

Mine: Zalvidar Copper Mine, Northern Chile

Renewable Energy: Hydro, Solar, Wind

Date: Announced July 2018

Details: Scheduled to be 100% renewables by 2020, the Chilean mine has signed a 10-year agreement with Colbun, a Chilean electric power utility company to supply renewables

• Mining Company: Karo Mining

• Mine: To be located in the Mhondoro-Ngezi platinum belt of Zimbabwe

• Renewable Energy: Solar

• Date: Announced July 2018

• Details: This newly announced mining project is to include a 300MW solar power plant. Operational date set for 2020. After discussions with Zimbabwean government, the company will build the solar power plant near its operations instead of a 600 MW coal-fired plant as initially announced.