Temporary power solutions

The Canadian mining industry has a well-earned reputation as a powerhouse provider of precious commodities and critical raw materials, including gold, diamonds, nickel, platinum, potash, coal and iron ore. But to maintain this preeminent position on the global stage, Canadian mining companies realize the importance of continued investment in their current infrastructure, and the need to embrace new methodologies and technology for sustainable and profitable growth.

In a keynote address earlier this year, Pierre Gratton, president and chief executive officer of the Mining Association of Canada, suggested several focus areas for the mining sector to maintain its competitive edge. These include fostering a commitment to reducing debt, investing in critical infrastructure to support new mining projects, and keeping environmental protection and safety, and making these top-of-mind priorities. 

Mining companies are investigating options to optimize various segments of their field operations, with these focus areas clearly in mind. Onsite power and cooling capabilities represent one area where changes to the status quo can yield significant benefits. The country’s vast mining operations—which include more than 800 mines and counting—are distributed far and wide, and consequently require different power solutions. Some are powered through direct connection to the existing utility grid while other operations, particularly those in remote areas, have their own dedicated power generation facilities. These mining operations often have just enough power for their existing needs, with little or no additional capacity to support expansion or the addition of new mining facilities.

While the industry is making strides to expand its infrastructure by building new roads, railways, power plants, natural gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG) refueling terminals, this is a multi-year process that does not solve a mining operation’s expansion needs in the short term. Utility rental solutions, such as the rental power generation and distribution services available from Aggreko Canada, provide a viable temporary solution until the grid or onsite power generation facilities are expanded in an existing or new mining region. 

Modular turnkey rental power provides several tangible benefits, such as allowing a mining operator to capture short-term market opportunities by avoiding delays in their expansion plans. In many situations, these rental solutions help an operator improve their balance sheet by avoiding high-cost capital expenditure (CAPEX) commitments on short- to mid-term duration needs. This not only helps conserve cash, but it also mitigates risk associated with market volatility. Rental solutions are flexible, scalable and require no long-term commitments—regardless of the size of the plant or duration of the contract.

Rental options also exist for short-term, seasonal underground or above ground cooling.  Modular chillers, cooling towers, bulk air handlers and heat exchangers can be delivered onsite to cool mineshafts or surface facilities experiencing high temperatures during warmer summer months.  This helps an operator avoid the large CAPEX required for permanent cooling solutions that might only be necessary for one to three months each year. These cooling options allow the client to meet their safety regulation requirements for personnel working in the mine or in above ground processing facilities, while also helping the mine maintain or improve production efficiency and ultimately, maximize revenue. 

Rental solutions offer customized power and cooling options to a mining operation, depending on its individual requirements. Large, multi-megawatt distribution plants are available to supply power from a central location, or individual generator sets can be deployed at strategic locations throughout the mine site.

The past few years have also seen a rise in client requests for environmentally sustainable power and cooling solutions. To that end, a range of natural gas, LNG and CNG generators and power systems are available that reduce exhaust emissions and maximize fuel efficiency, thus minimizing environmental impact.

Generating success

Mining operations worldwide are benefitting from the cost savings and operational efficiencies that power and cooling rental solutions provide. A remote mining site in North America, for example, was running on temporary, Tier-1 diesel generators while awaiting completion of its permanent power plant. The combined pressures of rising diesel costs and increased regulatory permitting requirements to reduce diesel emissions forced the operator to replace its generator sets with high CAPEX, Tier-4 units.

Through close collaboration with the operator’s engineering and environmental permitting departments, Aggreko delivered a 3.6-MW LNG power plant utilizing natural gas powered generators. This turnkey package included all required transformers, switchgear cryogenic vessels and vaporizers, as well as the supply of LNG.

Aggreko’s clean-burning natural gas generators greatly reduced the mine’s environmental footprint. The mine successfully obtained a state permit thanks to the lower NOx level, while also saving more than US$1 million in power costs in one year.

In another application, a large North American mine generated high ambient temperatures resulting from the strata and thermal reaction of the mining process. The expansion of the drift and elevated wet bulb in the mine also resulted in less fresh air available to miners.  Concerned with worker safety under these conditions, the operator required a cost-effective cooling solution.

An Aggreko team of engineers worked with the operator’s engineers to develop a portable cooling solution containing a chiller/coil/pump system. The solution decreased ambient shaft temperature by -6 °C (20 °F), which met both the operator’s health and safety needs and governmental safety regulations.

The operational impact was immediate. Worker safety and time underground were significantly improved, resulting in increased productivity at reduced cycle time. And because the equipment was rented, new cooling capacity was easily added to support field expansion at a lower cost.

These field applications are but a few examples of how rental power and cooling solutions can help mining operations minimize their CAPEX spending and boost productivity, while also improving their environmental stewardship. The maximum benefit of these rental systems can only be realized by partnering with a provider with the right technical, engineering and project management expertise to execute a customized turnkey solution, for short- and long-term needs. 

*Steve Smart and Eric Bateman are Business Development Managers for Aggreko North America.