Oz Minerals will use an optimized mix of solar, wind, battery and diesel power for its proposed copper-nickel project in West Musgrave, Australia, according to Mining Technology.
Oz Minerals and Cassini Resources own the project in the ratio of 70:30 respectively. According to its pre-feasibility report released Wednesday, the mine will produce 28,000 tonnes of copper and 22,000 tonnes of nickel per year for 26 years. The project report estimates a net present value of A$800 million and a post-tax IRR of about 20%.
“We believe, supported by the views of potential renewable energy suppliers, that 70-80 percent of the power needs for West Musgrave can be supplied by renewable sources, supplemented by battery storage and diesel or trucked gas-fired generation,” said Oz Minerals CEO Andrew Cole.
By using the aforesaid energy mix the mine will become one of the largest, fully off-grid mines powered by renewable energy in the world. Compared to a 100% diesel operation, the company’s plan will avoid more than 220,000 tpa of CO2 emissions, making it a low-carbon, low-cost and long-life mine.
According to Cole, it will also “overcome the historical challenge of affordable power for West Musgrave.”
Read the MINING TECHNOLOGY article HERE.
Image Source: Cassini Resources (West Musgrave Gallery)
