South Australian Oz Minerals Ltd is considering installing multiple sources of renewables at its Carrapateena deposit, following September’s costly blackouts in the region, the company’s Managing Director Andrew Cole told Reuters.
Solar is just one of the options being evaluated by Oz Minerals for its AUD$975 million (USD$741 million) Carrapateena mine project, which is an iron-oxide copper-gold deposit that is currently in a prefeasibility stage. The company is also asking local officials for assurances in terms of security of power supply in south Australia.
“You cannot run any mine off grid with just solar,” Cole said. “Until we have very good power storage solutions, renewables will always need to be complemented by sufficient base load.”
Core racks on the Carrapateena tenementCole cited September’s 24-hour blackout as the main reason behind the company’s pursuit of alternative energy. The incident cost nearby BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam copper mine AUD$2.6 million (USD$2 million) a day and shut down production for nearly two weeks.
The managing director also praised the implementation of solar by the rival copper miner Sandfire Resources. “What they (Sandfire) have done is really innovative,” he noted. For more information on Sandfire’s use of renewables, click here.
To read the full story on Oz Minerals Ltd’s plans, click here.