Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Critical minerals company IGO will undertake a study for the full underground electrification of its Cosmos nickel project, in Western Australia.
The miner has awarded ASX-listed Perenti, in collaboration with ABB, the contract to undertake the electrification study. Experts from the three companies will jointly provide a pathway for the optimum design of mine electrification at the Cosmos project, including mine design optimisation for electric operations, production and operating philosophy, fleet selection, power distribution and electrical infrastructure design, electrification system and battery management, environmental and social governance and safety impact analysis, and cost modelling.
IGO is hoping to implement a complete mine electrification solution at Cosmos by mid-2025.
“At IGO, we believe in a cleaner energy future, and that extends to our underground mining operations where the electrification of our fleets will create a safer, greener and more productive operation,” said IGO head of technical services Chris Carr.
“We are excited about this future and our collaboration with Perenti and ABB to make this a reality.”
Cosmos was acquired by IGO as part of its acquisition of nickel miner Western Areas in 2022, and the Odysseus underground mine is currently being developed at the project. The company will spend between A$795-million and A$825-million at Cosmos, with commercial production scheduled near the end of the September quarter this year.
The miner previously said that it was looking at an optimised plan to expand mill capacity from the planned 750 000 t/y to about 1.1-million tonnes a year, and to change mine plans to bring additional resources into the production profile earlier than initially planned.