PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Copper miner Sandfire Resources on Wednesday revealed that it would spend A$40-million to construct a 10.6 MW solar power station at its DeGrussa project, in Western Australia.

The project would involve the construction of the largest integrated off-grid solar array in Australia, and would have the potential to establish DeGrussa as an industry-leader in the use of renewable power for mining and processing operations.

The proposed solar power station would use a 10.6 MW solar array, comprising 34 080 solar photovoltaic panels that track the sun, and a 6 MW battery. The project would be constructed over 20 ha of land near the current underground mine, and would be fully integrated into the existing 20 MW diesel-fired power station at DeGrussa under an agreement with operator Kalgoorlie Power Systems.

Sandfire MD Karl Simich said on Wednesday that the company had been working on the solar power initiative since 2013, with the project representing an attractive opportunity to participate in a low-risk renewable-energy initiative with a minimal capital requirement.

“The scale of this project will be an Australian and world first, a unique combination of an off-grid, high capacity solar power array which will be fully integrated with an existing diesel power station.”

Simich pointed out that the project had the capacity to significantly reduce the company’s medium- and long-term power costs, especially with further extensions of the DeGrussa project and mine life.

“This project is entirely consistent with our ongoing efforts to optimise and enhance our operations at DeGrussa and reduce costs wherever possible. We are continuing to explore other options to reduce our energy costs, including using alternatives such as compressed natural gas for gas-fired power generation,” Simich said.

The solar power station remained subject to certain conditions precedent, including financial close. Sandfire was hoping to start construction of the project by the second quarter of this year, with the objective of commissioning the solar power plant in the first quarter of 2016.