VoltVision, the high voltage (HV) electrical data analytics business is pleased to report that it is continuing to expand across the African and Middle Eastern mining sectors.  Following successful trials, it has acquired four new contracts with top-tier miners Barrick Gold, Centamin, Resolute Mining and Allied Gold. The ongoing success of these partnerships proves VoltVision’s capabilities in the digitisation of complex high and medium voltage power grids.  It also demonstrates its success in helping mining companies to improve operational efficiencies and, in doing so, accelerating the decarbonisation of the industry.

• Barrick Gold: Lumwana Project

Barrick's Lumwana Mine in Zambia has partnered with VoltVision to gain a deeper understanding of its power performance, both at site and group level. VoltVision's solutions have enabled the Lumwana operations team to monitor the electrical performance of the processing plant. This will improve efficiencies and help manage the relationship with the grid supplier through ongoing monitoring and billing verification. The customised reporting feature will also streamline the reporting process for the site management team.

• Centamin: Sukari Mine 

At Centamin’s Sukari Mine in Egypt, VoltVision will digitise three critical areas of the mine complex including the underground operations, the process plant and all power generation units – encompassing a recently installed 36MW solar park and 50MW of heavy-fuel operated power generators. VoltVision’s pioneering solutions will enable Sukari to better operate its Power Management System, maximise solar PV usage, and advance to automated real-time energy reporting. 

• Resolute Mining: Syama Project

Resolute Mining has partnered with VoltVision to gain better visibility into Syama’s medium voltage (MV) power network. VoltVision has retrofitted its solutions across Syama’s entire MV power network enabling the site management team to monitor diesel generation, power usage and power quality. VoltVision has streamlined the reporting process, guaranteeing accuracy and availability by using our  customised reporting feature. This automatically populates all power reports needed across the site and at ExCo.

• Allied Gold: Sadiola Project

At Allied Gold's site, VoltVision has implemented a comprehensive monitoring solution, providing site-wide power digitisation. This has given the ExCo team unprecedented access to power usage and quality data across the entire processing plant, allowing them to identify areas for improved efficiency. VoltVision has also built a centralised multi-asset monitoring tool for the site management team. 

Manoli Yannaghas, Co-founder and Managing Director of VoltVision commented: “We are thrilled to be working with Centamin, Resolute Mining, Allied Gold and Barrick’s Lumwana complex in their respective efforts to improve operational efficiencies, reduce costs and address climate change. VoltVision is proud to be supporting an increasing number of leading miners in Africa and the Middle East on their journey to becoming more responsible users of power, tackling energy wastage and addressing carbon intensity.

“Our solutions are installed without the need for operational shutdowns and at a fraction of the price of alternatives. The power efficiencies and cost savings recorded by our customers in just a few months is a testament to the effectiveness of power transparency that a digital analytics solution can offer.“

VoltVision’s retrofit digitisation solutions hinge on two critical areas:

1. Data extraction: Its easy to install V-CUBE technology is able to access valuable high resolution power data and transmit it to The Cloud using minimal bandwidth. By retrofitting their V-CUBE to existing electrical equipment, no CapEx investment or shutdowns are required. This ensures installation is fast and easy.

2. Cloud Software: VoltVision’s ViViD ‘Big Data’ platform is designed to efficiently handle large volumes of data, while automating the analysis of that data into information that can be used by operations and engineering teams to optimise their power networks. This means quick access to real-time monitoring across a whole network; advanced analytics of power quality including historic analysis; and automated, auditable reporting usable at site and group level.

VoltVision’s solutions upgrade older electrical assets into fully digitised elements of a cloud-based IoT (Internet of Things), capable of analysing big data with minimal infrastructure investment. This gives users unprecedented visibility of power consumption dynamics and quality, access to Science Based Targets (SBTi) emissions accounting, accurate cost analysis versus budget and key performance indicators (KPIs) allowing mining companies to make intelligence-based management decisions.

Mr Yannaghas added: “There is a lot of legacy equipment still in use at mine sites that cannot currently communicate. While there is no need to upgrade this equipment from a performance point of view, the lack of data transparency restricts the ability to understand and manage its energy usage. By digitising these power networks, we help operators become responsible power users, delivering immediate savings of up to 10% of annual energy costs, plus a host of benefits including greater reliability and lower carbon emissions. This is all vital if we are to reach Net Zero targets.”