Power for Operating New Iron Ore Mine, Mining Area C
Development, Western Australia
The challenge to the customer
The BHP Billiton (BHPB) Mining Area C Development is located in
Western Australia and contains one of the largest undeveloped Marra
Mamba (iron formation) resource in the region. Until a
new transmission line from the BHPB owned 105MW gas turbine power
station could be connected to the remote area, an alternative power
source was required to start operations.
Aggreko's solution
Aggreko installed an 11MW/33kV temporary power station with
underground cabling connected to the clients high voltage overhead
lines to operate the mining equipment and commence production as
soon as possible.
The benefits to the customer
Since mine sites experience frequent load demand changes
resulting in unwanted and expensive electrical loss and excess fuel
consumed, Aggreko supplied a control system connected to
specialised software known as SCADA which allows the client to
monitor the power supply via telemetry (radio control). The SCADA
system is programmed to adjust power supplied from the generator
package according to demand from mining equipment so all available
electricity is utilised and fuel cost is significantly reduced.