Standby power in demand for off-grid juniors

24th May 2019 By: Mamaili Mamaila - Journalist

Junior miners create demand for generators and standby power, as they are often off-grid in the project startup phase, yet aim to start generating revenue from their mine resource as soon as possible, says generator manufacturer HIMOINSA Southern Africa.

It is imperative that juniors should have available power on site as soon as possible so that they can start production to generate revenue from the mine.

As such, HIMOINSA – which offers a turnkey solution – believes that it is well equipped to support junior mines in this regard, particularly in the development and operation of the mine, which is critical in the capital expenditure (capex) phase.

“We always look at the total cost of ownership, rather than just the capex alone. Therefore, we will design a tailor-made solution to provide a junior mining company with the lowest operating cost solution, bearing in mind service intervals and fuel consumption, as fuel efficiency is key, as well as the lowest capex cost,” says HIMOINSA director Matthew Bell.

He points out that HIMOINSA equipment has longer service intervals, so the operating costs of mines that have to run their generators full time will be lower.

In addition to a purchase option, the company also offers a rental option for the flexibility of monthly payments, rather than a large one-off amount. Moreover, HIMOINSA’s lease-to-own model – called the Build, Own, Operate, Transfer (BOOT) option – whereby the mine owns the generator once the contract period ends, is also an option. This ensures a successful reduction of capex during this critical period, with the payments spread out over the contract term.

Through these options, HIMOINSA can commercially support junior miners to become profitable as quickly as possible. The BOOT offering is well suited to the junior mining space because HIMOINSA, as a European company, has access to European financing terms that are often more attractive than the African financing terms, Bell explains.

The modularity of HIMOINSA’s equipment further offers an advantage to juniors, as they can add to their current supply over time. As the power demand grows, the company can support the growth of the mine on a long-term basis, he emphasises.

“With this solution from HIMOINSA, juniors may require only a small capacity during the construction and commissioning phase and, once the power demand increases for full production, we can easily and cost effectively increase the installed capacity with our modular solution.”

Juniors prefer to effectively outsource the power supply requirements to a specialist, such as HIMOINSA, while they focus on their core competency, which is mining.

The specialist aspect is an important element of HIMOINSA’s turnkey solution offering, as the company partners with the junior miner from the beginning stages.

HIMOINSA is actively involved throughout the commissioning of the power plant in partnership with the client. The company will also complete the connection to the substation and can remain on site to operate the plant.

“We also provide a fixed monthly price with this turnkey solution so that the mine can accurately forecast and budget for the power solution without the risk of any unexpected costs during the contract period,” Bell underscores.

“We believe in more of a partnership and consultative approach with our clients, particularly in some of the specific vertical sectors, such as mining, which are more complex. We have an excellent product range that is designed for the mining sector.”