Perth Media Official Partner for Energy and Mines Summit in Perth, June 29-30, 2018

Australia becoming the Global Centre for Renewables for Mines

Perth, Australia, April 25, 2018: As recent project announcements show, the number of Australian mining operators seriously assessing and investing in renewables is growing rapidly. Driven by favourable economics and additional benefits including carbon reductions and social license, major and mid-tier Australian mines are adopting renewables.

South32 recently announced its 3MW solar farm for its Cannington mine in Queensland for which SunSHIFT is providing its re-deployable solar solution. Once complete, this will be the second largest solar project for a remote, off-grid Australian mine.

Similarly, Image Resources is investing in a 3-4 MW solar farm adjacent to its Boonanarring mine and processing plant, which are currently under construction. This ‘behind the meter’ solution will deliver around 25% of the facilities electricity needs. GMA Garnet, a leading supplier of garnet used in blasting and water jet cutting, has locked in energy prices for the next 13 years for its Western Australia operations through a long-term power purchase agreement for wind and solar.

OZ Minerals also recently announced plans to build a solar and battery storage facility at its Prominent Hill mine in South Australia, and is looking at further investments in renewables to support other projects in the region. The mine also became the first resource company to sign a transmission cost partnership with a renewables developer through its recent deal with SolarReserve.

Finally, New Century Resources is investing in SunSHIFT’s portable and scalable solar system to supply power for the refurbishment of its Century mine at $120/MWh which is a fraction of the $400/MWh it had been paying to run diesel during Care & Maintenance.  And Copper Mines of Tasmania (CMT) has an ambitious plan to make Mt Lyell on Tasmania's west coast Australia's first zero emissions mine through investments in electrification and renewables.

In addition to these projects, there is quite simply a wealth of major mines and mid-tier leaders at various stages if assessing and approving renewable energy investments for remote and grid-tied sites. While these projects are not yet public, many will be showcased at this year’s Energy and Mines Australia Summit on June 27-28 in Perth.

"What we are seeing is quite a transformation in the market around mining companies' appetites to adopt renewable energy generation,” comments Will Rayward-Smith, General Manager, SunSHIFT. "Scalability is very important because mining companies want to include a renewable option but may not want to progress to a high penetration system straight away.”

"At sites where we also integrate wind, the mine can offset more than 70% of its fossil fuel usage,” observes Amiram Roth-Deblon, Head of Global Business Initiatives, juwi Renewable Energies. “We are currently designing such solar-wind-battery hybrids for multiple sites in Western Australia."

This heightened activity has positioned Australia as the fastest growing market for renewables for mines.  Senior mining representatives are now preparing to meet with global renewables experts in Perth this June 27-28 to discuss renewables integration. This 2nd annual Energy and Mines Australia Summit, features presenters from BHP, Sandfire Resources, Fortescue Metals Group, Rio Tinto, South32, Nyrstar, Oz Minerals, Australian Vanadium, Panoramic Resources, Montezuma Mining Company, Resolute Mining and Gold Fields.

SunSHIFT is the in association sponsor for the Summit which offers a complete picture of current opportunities and challenges in integrating alternative energy options for remote, fringe-of-grid, and grid-connected mines. The Summit is also being supported by juwi Renewable Energies, VSUN Energy, Hatch, Aggreko, Zenith Energy, and ONETIDE Modular Systems.

For more details on these projects and the upcoming Summit visit Energy and Mines Australia Summit website.

About Energy and Mines:

Energy and Mines is the leading global information and event media provider for energy management and operations of the mining sector. Through its global Summit series (Canada, South Africa, Chile, UK, Australia) web portal and newsletter, Energy and Mines brings together the mining and renewable energy sectors to drive solutions for affordable, reliable and sustainable power for mines. www.energyandmines.com

Contact: Adrienne Baker, Director, Energy and Mines, adrienne.baker@energyandmines.com or +1 819 319 3101

Perth Energy and Mines Summit Top Take Homes

Last week at the Energy and Mines Summit, Perth company Advanced Energy Resources (AER) announced it signed a long-term power purchase agreement with GMA Garnet to build a 3 megawatt wind and solar farm with battery storage near Kalbarri, Western Australia.

Diesel fuel rebate not helping miners move to renewable energy; contracts evolving to squarely put responsibility of delivery onto the shoulders of energy providers; and 'green is the new black'

1. There are some seriously big renewable projects (especially wind/solar) coming on stream in Australia integrating with mining operations. Just last week Advanced Energy Resources announced a deal with GMA Garnet in WA.

2. Miners are talking openly, at industry conferences, about social impact and responsibly reducing carbon footprint. Being a good corporate citizen is now viewed by many in industry as offering value to shareholders, and something that will ultimately increase bottom lines.

3. On balance sheets, the diesel fuel rebate is not assisting Australian miners to justify investment in renewables, but they are doing it anyway.

4. Creativity and collaboration is essential in this industry as leading players seek to learn from the mistakes and experience of others. Speakers last week in Perth spoke openly about mistakes, disagreements and sought advice from eachother.

5. The global leaders in this space are seriously smart, as they have extremely complex engineering, logistical and corporate problems to solve. Intellectual capacity was well above average at this mining conference.

6. Funding for projects is coming from equity, banks, government (ARENA) and direct private investment. Some Australian miners, owned by overseas interests, are taking a long view, and investing heavily in renewables.

7. Some miners are planning to share renewable power set ups with local indigenous communities. This would be a game changer for many communities in northern Australia, when roads are under water during the wet season and diesel cant be trucked in. The miners are not announcing this yet, but they plan to share their power facilities in some cases.

8. Contracting Trends: One popular panel discussion talked about how miners want renewable suppliers to bring solutions in the tendering process. Tell us how you are going to solve our needs, the speaker said. Overall the message is clear, miners mine. Miners are looking for energy specialists to bring knowledge and the a plan for delivery to the table.

9. Some miners, generating/storing their own power, are planning to shut down operations when energy prices are high and sell back to the grid. They will make more money doing this than producing their own products.

10. 'Green is the new black,' says Phillip Mak, (Global Head of Resources, Energy and Northern Australia at National Australia Bank). He says way more renewable projects seeking funding, on visits to his office, than coal these days.

11. Australia is on the verge of a serious shift in energy supply. Atmosphere/buzz at the conference was electric. The atmosphere reminiscent of a Diggers & Dealers Conference in the 1990s, on the verge of a spike in the gold price.

12. No one talked about 'clean coal'.

By Cate Rocchi, CEO of Perth Media.

Cate visited the Energy and Mines Summit in Perth last week. Perth Media was an official sponsor of the event. She chaired a panel at the conference that discussed financing renewables.  Perth Media's clients include VSUN Energy, Australian Vanadium, Bryah Resources and Veritas.

Perth Media Produced Film (with Courtney Waller) for VSUN Energy on Busselton Battery Install

A terrific short film for VSUN Energy, Perth Media produced for less than $1500. Well done Courtney Waller.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDTN1lmGc4U

Photo: Perth Media