Power for Operating New Iron Ore
Mine, Mining Area C Development, Western Australia
The challenge to the customer
The BHP Billiton (BHPB) Mining Area
C Development is located in Western Australia and contains one of
the largest undeveloped Marra Mamba (iron formation) resource in
the region. Until a new transmission line from the BHPB
owned 105MW gas turbine power station could be connected to the
remote area, an alternative power source was required to start
operations.
Aggreko's solution
Aggreko installed an 11MW/33kV
temporary power station with underground cabling connected to the
clients high voltage overhead lines to operate the mining equipment
and commence production as soon as possible.
The benefits to the customer
Since mine sites experience
frequent load demand changes resulting in unwanted and expensive
electrical loss and excess fuel consumed, Aggreko supplied a
control system connected to specialised software known as SCADA
which allows the client to monitor the power supply via telemetry
(radio control). The SCADA system is programmed to adjust power
supplied from the generator package according to demand from mining
equipment so all available electricity is utilised and fuel cost is
significantly reduced.