Owing to the increasing cost of conventional fuels in the mining industry, such as diesel, power generation is becoming a major focus for mining companies, says renewable-energy solutions company MCD director Manuel Duggal.

MCD recently designed and supervised the installation of a new heavy fuel oil (HFO) and hybrid solar power plant, as well as supervised the construction and commissioning of an HFO fuel storage facility at a gold mine, in Tanzania, which was commissioned in April this year.

“MCD was contracted to provide a detailed economic feasibility study, including obtaining tenders from fuel suppliers and presenting the estimated cost savings of changing the power plant from one using diesel to an HFO solar hybrid plant for the mine.

The mine has been in production since August 2012 and has an expected life of ten years.

As part of

the economic feasibility study, MCD was initially asked to provide a high-level economic feasibility study, which considered the existing power plant at the mine and examined all the alternative options to reduce the operational cost of power at the mine.

“The study took into account the fuel resources available, the environ- ment in which the company was operating, the minerals being extracted and a number of power technologies,” Duggal explains.

“The global cost of fuel is expected to rise over the next three to five years, which will increase the operating costs of mining operations that rely only on diesel as a source of fuel and mining companies are keen to [ensure] the best returns and reduce their costs over the life of mine,” he points out.

By choosing the new power plant, with the addition of a solar photovoltaic (PV) farm, the mine has forecast savings of 25% to 30% a year, compared with the original diesel-fired units.

Duggal adds that, with financial investors focusing more on increasing margins and reducing costs in mining operations, solar PV hybrid plants, combined with thermal power plants, are a viable alternative for mines.

He adds that the knowledge and acceptance of renewables solutions are not widespread throughout the mining community and decisions to install power plants are often led by mining consultancies that are experienced in the design and building of processing plants, but have less understanding of power plants and the options available.

“MCD is working closely with mines and mining consultants to develop a better understanding of the capital cost of renewable technologies. “These are still relatively high and only a few suppliers on the market are offering financially viable solutions that work for mines,” Duggal says.

He points out that renewables offer obvious financial benefits, whether solar, wind or hydroelectric, and once the technology has been installed, the cost of energy is reduced.