Renewable energy: SA's mining challenges. SOUTH AFRICA'S mining companies are currently facing major financial losses due to on-going wage negotiations. These challenges, coupled with rising administered costs and fluctuating commodity prices, highlight the need for the industry to look at how best it can increase profits to ensure a sustainable future. In order to cut back on costs the industry should look to renewable energy options, such as photovoltaic (PV) solar energy, as an alternative to power mining sites. In the long run significant costs can be cut by not relying on fossil fuel power solutions, such as diesel-fired generators. At the Renewable Energy and Mining Conference that took place in Toronto recently, it was discussed that mining houses typically spend about 30% of the operating cost of a mine on energy, operating a typical diesel-powered generation set would cost about $0.28/kWh to $0.32/kWh, compared with the current average operating cost of solar power being at about $0.17/kWh. - Fin24.
Resources-for-energy could help juniors seize renewable power opportunities. TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – A global mining and energy solutions firm is offering miners the opportunity to swap resources for electricity, which could potentially open the door to juniors seizing the opportunity to introduce renewable power at their projects without carrying the burden of financing, engineering, constructing or operating the equipment.
Cronimet Mining - Power Solutions MD Rollie Armstrong told Mining Weekly Online last week that small companies with access to established resources, but which did not necessarily have capital for a $10-million hybrid renewables/diesel energy system, could potentially benefit from resources-for-energy agreements. Cronimet Chrome SA director Moritz Hill added that the company had a significant trading background and this had helped it to facilitate commodity trading for energy. He said Cronimet was engaged with “detailed talks” with a number of customers, but that no legal agreements were in place yet. Edited by: Creamer Media Reporter. Untitled. Hybrid power systems cut fuel costs for off-grid telecom sites. Joel Brunarie, telecom business development manager at Saft’s Industrial Battery Group, explains how continuously increasing fuel costs are driving telecom operators that use diesel-powered generators in off-grid locations to adopt innovative, fuel-efficient hybrid solutions that partner the genset with advanced energy storage technology Mobile telecom networks now offer a vital communications lifeline for many parts of the developing world, especially in Africa.
This places network operators under considerable pressure to deliver reliable customer service. However for many BTS (base transceiver station) locations the grid supply is either unreliable or non-existent, so these sites must rely on their own diesel generators. Operators also need to control their operating and maintenance costs to stay profitable, yet this is becoming increasingly difficult as the cost of fuel to keep gensets running 24/7 continue to rise. Operating conditions for such installations can be tough. WorldWater & Solar water pumps will convert Egyptian desert to farmable land. WorldWater & Solar Technologies, Inc. will soon make desert lands in Egypt arable, thanks to the company’s ability to use photovoltaics to pump water at up to a thousand gallons a minute with a 250-horsepower pump.
The company has signed agreements for the projects and is now designing them. The company partnered with Tri-Ocean Energy, an energy company in the Middle East and North Africa, to develop two pilot projects in Egypt this year that will take over existing pumping operations for two farming operations. “One is in near Alexandria, on 150 to 200 acres of land that is currently being watered by a diesel-operated pump. Another is similar but at a different location, a 75-acre plot of land,” said Davinder Sethi, Ph.D., chief financial officer and chief operating officer of WorldWater & Solar. The larger system will be powered by a 220-kilowatt photovoltaic array, while the smaller will be powered by a 135-kW array. Next year, the company will undertake much more ambitious projects. Untitled. Untitled. Power transmission equipment supply benefits mining industry. Integrated generator set manu- facturer Cummins believes that its Power of One initiative provides sustainstable and consistent power supply for the mining industry.
Cummins South Africa (SA) power generation GM Cletus Makombe says the initiative is an integrated approach where major components, such as the engine, alternator, transfer switches and control systems, work in har- mony from the start and are all manufactured to Cummins’ highest standards of quality. The company notes that reliable power supply is an important factor in mining operations’ productivity and, with a range of power generation equipment and services available to local mining operations, an increase in productivity is guaranteed. “The initiative ensures that a mine’s power system works efficiently, as it involves a pre-inte- grated design, rather than the combination of an engine, an alternator, controls and transfer switches from a variety of manufacturers.
Edited by: Megan Wait. Untitled. A 12MW power station at the mine site provides the power required for mining and ore processing operations. Image courtesy of Regis Resources. - Image.