EVOL LNG facility to power Australian mine

The Kirkalocka Gold Mine has been inactive since being idled in 2008, but is set to restart operation after more than a decade out of service.

Located around 70km south of Mt Magnet in the mid-west region of Western Australia, the mine’s new owners are refurbishing the processing plant and increasing its capacity to over 2.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

It will be powered by a cleaner alternative to diesel going forward, with a long-term arrangement seeing EVOL supply LNG to Adaman Resources’ wholly-owned subsidiary Kirkalocka Gold SPV Pty Ltd. The mine will use EVOL LNG to fuel Zenith Energy’s 14.5 megawatt power station, with supply planned to commence from September 2019.

EVOL – managed by Kleenheat, part of Wesfarmers Chemicals – will build, own, operate and maintain the onsite LNG storage and vaporisation facility at the mine. The facility will use EVOL LNG’s modular design which allows for fast installation and expandability to suit the mine’s growing energy requirements.

EVOL LNG and Wholesale Manager, Nick Rea, said the use of LNG as an alternative to diesel will help minimise the mine’s carbon emissions. “LNG produces 25% less CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions than diesel, and during the initial six years of operation, the mine will avoid 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by fuelling its power station with LNG instead of diesel. This is the equivalent of keeping around 3,000 cars off the road.”

Rea said the Kirkalocka Gold Mine was its third major contract in the Australian mid-west in recent years, and sees huge potential for growth in this region. “The scarcity of gas pipelines and absence of grid power would otherwise force off-grid mines to use diesel for power generation, but we are able to provide a much better solution with LNG. It’s clean, safe, reliable and lower cost than diesel.”

“We have proven ourselves to the mining industry over the last decade, with seven mine sites now powered by EVOL LNG,” he affirmed.

Adaman Resources’ CEO Craig Bradshaw said EVOL LNG will provide environmental, financial and economic benefits for the company. “Utilising LNG as an alternative to diesel-fired generation will significantly reduce our energy costs and exposure to volatile diesel prices,” he said. “Based on the current diesel price, we estimate our energy costs to be reduced by more than $13m during the first six years of operation.”