MINING ENERGY_proof 22/08/2016 19:42 Page 5
MINING ENERGY
n Wind power will become the most important
renewable energy technology to the mining
industry, making up over half of the industry’s
renewable energy
n Solar power will come next in popularity,
supplying a bit less than half of the industry’s
renewable energy
n Mine owners will invest $20 billion in new
renewable energy facilities.”
Wind power
Raglan Mine, part of the Glencore group, is
located at the northernmost limit of Québec,
where it operates one of the richest base-metal
mines in the world. The property stretches 70 km
from east to west, and encompasses a series of
high-grade nickel and copper ore deposits. The
site includes four underground mines currently in
operation, a concentrator, an accommodation
complex and administrative buildings. It has all
the infrastructures of a small municipality.
Since its facilities are not connected to the
hydro network nor to the natural gas grid, the
mine has to produce its own electricity; this is
why it is recognised as the Arctic’s largest
consumer of diesel and its largest emitter of
greenhouse gas (GHG).
Sitting on a plateau 600 m high on the Ungava
Peninsula in northern Quebec, it is well situated
to take advantage of the power of wind. In 2014,
Raglan partnered with TUGLIQ and Hatch to
complete the construction of a 120 m high
Enercon wind turbine and storage facility. TUGLIQ
is the promoter, owner and operator of the
project.
Like most other northern mines, Raglan was
heavily dependent on diesel to fuel its
operations. With climate change considerations,
commitments to limit environmental impacts and
rising diesel costs, there was a strong business
case for the company to explore alternative
energy solutions.
The project aimed to design, install, and
operate an industrial-scale wind turbine (one of
Quebec's largest). Raglan set out to diversify its
energy mix with wind as a means of improving
sustainability, reducing emissions and cutting
costs. The system was installed at a mine in
severe Arctic climate conditions in order to
demonstrate; at an industrial scale that such
configuration can achieve significant reductions
in energy cost and in diesel consumption
compared to diesel-only or to pure wind-diesel
alternatives. Importantly, the project was sized
and designed to bear relevance to Aboriginal and
remote communities in the North.
The project was a private-public partnership
between Raglan mine, TUGLIQ Energy and the
federal and provincial governments. Hatch
completed the feasib ility study for the project
and managed its implementation and the
74 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2016
integration of wind power into the mine's energy
mix in such a way that grid power quality
and stability is maintained. The project
involved overcoming Arctic conditions and
severe wind power variability.
The project evaluates three technologies:
flywheel, lithium-ion battery, and electrolyser
with fuel cell and hydrogen tanks. Hatch
designed and implemented the Hatch Microgrid
(HµGrid), which monitors demand for wind power
and supply variations, and economically
dispatches the charge and discharge from energy
storage units to smooth out wind power
variations and displace diesel generation.
The engineering and construction by Hatch
and TUGLIQ Energy was fast-tracked to be
completed within the short Arctic summer
construction window; the project was completed
within budget and schedule, with zero accidents.
Since its implementation in August 2014, the 3
MW wind turbine and storage facility has already
saved over 4 million litres of diesel and reduced
GHG emissions by 11,000 t, equivalent to
removing 2,400 cars off Canadian roads. Based
on these results, Glencore estimates that it will
save more than $40 million in fuel-related costs
over the projected 20 year life of the wind
turbine. This successful pilot project could have
transformative impacts across northern Canada,
helping to pave the way for the more widespread
adoption of greener energy alternatives. It is a
fully-developed and tested wind power and
storage system that could be duplicated into
Aboriginal communities and other northern
mining operations in the future. Raglan Mine is
currently evaluating the possibility to install a
second wind turbine at the site.
Similarly, lying on an island in a remote subArctic lake about 300 km northeast of Yellowknife,
the 9.2 MW Diavik wind farm is the first large-scale
wind energy facility in Canada’s Northwest
Territories. The project was developed by Diavik
Diamond Mines to help diversify the energy supply
at its mining operation at Lac de Gras.
The four Enercon wind turbines are integrated
into the mine’s existing diesel-powered system
and offset diesel use when the wind is blowing,
saving the company an estimated $5-6 million a
year in fuel costs. Diavik expects the $33 million
project to reduce its reliance on diesel by around
10% and lower the mine’s carbon footprint by
about 6%.
The 33 m long turbine blades were the longest
loads ever to take the 19 hour, 353 km trip along
the road to Diavik, and custom-designed trailers
had to be used so the trucks could manoeuvre
steep land portages between the lakes. In total,
it took 60 truck loads to get the turbine
components to the site. Rotor diameter for each
of the four wind turbines is 71 m and hub height
64 m.
The wind turbines have been designed to
operate in temperatures as low as -40°C,
exceeding the industry standard of -30°C and
building on Canadian expertise in cold-climate
wind technology.
“Although projects like this are very
challenging technically, and require as many
resources as much larger projects, the impact is
huge. This project will save more than one million
litres of diesel per turbine per year. That is a big
gain. And economically, it just makes sense. I
think now we’ve showcased a clear alignment of
economic and environmental benefits,” said
Marc-Antoine Renaud, Business Development
Manager, Enercon Canada.
This diesel fuel saving also means a reduction
in the annual winter road haul of 100 tanker
trucks a year.
Solar
Last year’s article by Paul Moore, Extractive
power, noted the Degrussa mine solar project
and it was June this year when Sandfire
Resources announced that it had been
commissioned and was now in steady-state
operating mode. The project involved the
installation of 34,080 solar PV panels and
associated site electrical work, allowing
incorporation of the 10 MW facility and the 6 MW
on-site battery storage with the existing dieselfired power station at the DeGrussa copper-gold
mine.
The solar array covers a total area of over 20
ha at the site, which is located immediately
adjacent to the DeGrussa underground mine and
processing plant.
The innovative A$40 million project is the
largest integrated off-grid solar and battery
storage facility in Australia and reportedly, in the
world. It comprises 34,080 solar PV panels with a
single-axis tracking system mounted on 4,700
steel posts. This enables the panels to track the
sun during the day, improving the plant’s overall
performance. Electrical infrastructure installed
includes inverters to change the electric current
from DC to AC and transformers.
The panels are connected via an extensive
network of low-voltage, high-voltage and
communication cables to a 6 MW lithium-ion
battery storage facility and the existing 19 MW
diesel-fired power station at DeGrussa.
The project is owned by leading French
renewable energy firm Neoen, with juwi
Renewable Energy responsible for the project
development, EPC and O&M. Project financing
was provided by the Clean Energy Finance Corp
(CEFC) with recoupable grant funding support of
A$20.9 million from the Australian Renewable
Energy Agency (ARENA).
Sandfire’s Managing Director, Karl Simich:
“This is the largest integrated off-grid solar and