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The owners of the Ravensthorpe nickel mine on WA's south coast have become the latest in a string of resource companies to embrace wind power in an effort to lower carbon emissions.
Key points:
- Wind turbines could be supplying electricity to the Ravensthorpe nickel mine by next year
- The first mine in Australia to use wind power was WA's Agnew gold mine in 2020
- There are now multiple mining projects considering wind power to lower emissions
With howling winds from the Southern Ocean on its doorstep, the proposed installation at Ravensthorpe would likely generate 18–20 megawatts and reduce the mine's reliance on diesel generators.
First Quantum Minerals' Perth-based regional manager of projects and operations Gavin Ashley described Ravensthorpe as a prime location for wind energy.
"We're not connected to the grid," he said.
"The way we produce power is from waste heat in steam turbines as we burn sulphur to generate the sulphuric acid, which we use in the nickel process.
"We also have stand-by diesel generators and recently we've identified that we're short of power and we're using our diesel generators a lot more, so that's triggered this motivation to look at how we can offset that."
Canada's First Quantum Minerals owns 70 per cent of the Ravensthorpe mine, alongside South Korean steelmaker POSCO.
Mr Ashley said the company was part of a wider movement in the mining industry to embrace renewable energy, pointing to nickel's use in electric vehicle batteries as a key motivator.
He said the wind turbines should be operational by late 2024 or early 2025.
"Five [turbines] is probably the most likely scenario … we're just completing the study," he said.
"We're hoping to have that wrapped up in the next month, and then we'll be looking at presenting to the board for approvals and funding.
"The ultimate timeline will depend on two real factors — the time it will take to do the various environmental and government approvals and the supply chain availability of turbines in the market."
Wind powers mining industry
Last week, gold miner Northern Star Resources announced a deal with energy provider Zenith Pacific for a new hybrid power station at its Jundee operation in WA's northern Goldfields.
Northern Star managing director Stuart Tonkin said the project would cut Jundee's carbon emissions by up to 50 per cent by 2030.
"We'll be able to switch between gas as a back-up, with solar, battery storage and eventually wind turbines, so it will de-risk energy costs," Mr Tonkin said.
"The way gas prices have gone, it will certainly protect us from escalation in energy costs."
Northern Star's Kalgoorlie Super Pit is also progressing feasibility studies for a potential hybrid power solution.
In 2020, the Agnew gold mine in WA's northern Goldfields became the first to harness wind generation as part of a $112 million microgrid project.
Agnew's owners, South Africa's Gold Fields, have since revealed plans to install another microgrid at its St Ives operations near Kambalda.
Mining giant BHP followed suit in April by bankrolling the $200 million Flat Rocks wind farm near Kojonup to offset emissions from its Nickel West operations.
Oz Minerals is also embracing wind power at its $1.7 billion West Musgrave copper and nickel mine near the WA-SA-NT border.
Once operational in the second half of 2025, it will be one of the largest fully off-grid, hybrid renewable-powered mines in the world by generating 80 per cent of electricity from wind and solar power.