Shaw Controls, a Zest WEG Group
company, has supplied a containerised
electrical solution to supply power for
driving a mill on a new gold mine in
West Africa.
“Containerised electrical solutions
are becoming increasingly popular, as
these allow for speed of installation, and
they are a particularly cost-effective
option for mines and plants operating
in Africa,” says Kirk Moss, medium
voltage manager at Shaw Controls.
The custom-engineered substation
comprises a medium voltage (MV)
WEG MVW01 variable speed drive
(VSD) and a dry type phase shift
transformer driving a 2 000kW,
six-pole, 6.6kV squirrel cage WEG
electric motor. The VSD is housed in
the container, while the oil-cooled
transformer is housed outside of it to
facilitate heat dissipation.
According to Moss, the solution
has been specifically engineered for
this particular application and uses
specialised software for frozen charge
protection. The software, which
interfaces with the VSD, allows for the
objective detection of a frozen charge
Shaw Controls supplies containerised electrical
solution at West African gold mine
The custom-engineered substation supplied by Shaw Controls to a mine in Mali.
The WEG medium voltage 6.6kV variable speed drive prior to installation into the container.
condition by making use
of torque measurements
already being monitored by
the VSD.
“With the addition of an
encoder fitted to the electric
motor, we are now able to
monitor mill angle. And
with the torque and angle
measurements it is possible
to detect if cascading has
occurred within the mill,”
he explains.
A user-friendly interactive
touch screen has been
configured to allow different
levels of access to relevant
data. The ability to extract
the most relevant data and
provide this in an intuitive
Kirk Moss, medium voltage manager at Shaw Controls.
8 _ QUARRY SA | SEPTEMBER 2017
and simplified format allows
both operational and service
personnel to monitor the
requisite parameters.
The WEG MVW01 VSD
range is available in 3.3kV
and 6.6kV versions. Also
available is the WEG
MVW3000 (3.3kV, 6.6kV,
and 11kV).