MINE POWER
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Galvanising the grid
Once operational Release’ s 21 MW solar power plant will generate approximately 40 GWh annually and cover about 30 % of Motheo’ s annual electricity demand, the company claims
Flexibility and modularity are being embedded in new future-ready mine design work, Dan Gleeson says
With much of the evolving mine electrification discussion focusing on the haul trucks, loading equipment and other production fleet units that frequent operating mine sites, the energy infrastructure that is set to underwrite the propulsion of these vehicles can often get left behind.
Whether it is a remote operation powered off a combination of solar, wind and other renewable energy – possibly with batterybacked storage – a grid-backed operation that benefits from, say, hydro power, or an alternative to these, the need for a resilient and flexible underlying power source will become even more important in the future. In a recent whitepaper titled,‘ How to solve the grid challenges and promote the electrification of mining operations,’ Epiroc’ s Ritwik Majumder and Robert Saers explored this context in relation to the deployment of electric surface drills in the open-pit mining environment.
The paper outlined the primary challenges associated with electrification in mining that, the authors say, may not be apparent today, but will require urgent attention as the pace of electrification accelerates.
“ It is worth noting that we see two different developments here,” they said.“ On the one hand, challenges related to electrifying machines will slowly reduce, while those concerning the power grid will increase.”
In this context, creating energy-efficient machines is insufficient; the equipment must
communicate and interact with all other units to optimise and balance overall power consumption and, naturally, even out peaks and other occurrences that might cause outages or situations with insufficient power supply.
Electric equipment must communicate and interact with all other operating units at openpit mines to optimise and balance overall power consumption and, naturally, even out peaks and other occurrences that might cause outages or situations with insufficient power supply, according to Epiroc’ s Ritwik Majumder and Robert Saers
“ The same applies to batteries,” they say.“ We need to coordinate charging to minimise costs and disruptions. Optimising the charging sequences of all machines produces a significant advantage. This enables batteries in vehicles to handle peak demands, known as peak shaving, which further reduces the burdens on the electrical grid.”
This is all part of the“ smart power management” discussion which requires operations to understand how electric equipment, including surface drills, behaves when connected to the electrical grid, all while confronting infrastructure challenges like weak and remote grids, plus grid contingencies.
Besides the lack of good infrastructure, there are also issues when it comes to increasing the capacity of the grid, according to the authors, explaining that renewable sources have the potential to add a lot of green capacity with the potential to be unreliable.
“ Furthermore, adding more power to the grid, even without capacity issues, will infer major capital spending,” they said.“ And operating megawatt-level machines in medium voltage distribution grids poses significant challenges.”
Smart power management, they say, will help solve the challenges of peak power and energy requirements during the work cycles of the machines. It will also act as a“ multitool” that will optimise individual machines as well as aid in full fleet management. It could help guarantee there is enough power to run the mining operations with the right reliability and predictability, plus provide a“ straightforward way” to cut capital spending by as much as 20 % while significantly cutting operating costs.
Yet the‘ smart’ element requires“ uniform action” from all stakeholders, the authors say, calling for two major changes:
• All connected equipment must act to optimise the best overall result of the operations rather than trying to just maximise their part; and
• There must be a standardised framework for exchanging information between grid and machines to ensure that everyone speaks the same language and, thereby, secure the most energy-efficient and profitable operations possible.
Addressing underground challenges
Power distribution in underground mining is also becoming increasingly complex as higher production targets, expanding electrification and growing levels of automation drive a continuous rise in power demand. At the same time, the operating environment remains challenging: confined
International Mining | MARCH 2026