OZ Minerals launches renewable energy industry collaboration

According to Mining News Pro - The partnership is focused on investigating demand for renewables adoption in the mining industry in preparation for a possible showcase of renewable energy integration.

OZ Minerals will form a partnership with founding collaborators Adelaide University, the Department of Energy and Mining, the Rocky Mountain Institute, solar company SunSHIFT, Tonsley Innovation Precinct and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Together, they will work to formalise the partnership over the next six months, inviting other collaborators from around the world.

The group’s first project will focus on the trial installation of around 250 kilowatt of hybrid energy technology (solar PV, wind and battery storage) at OZ Minerals’ developing Carrapateena copper-gold mine site in South Australia, which will be connected to the site’s existing diesel generators. The project will also integrate a smart grid controller for data access and tracking.

Carrapateena, which is set to achieve first concentrate production in the fourth quarter of 2019, is one of Australia’s largest undeveloped copper deposits. It consists of a 4.25-million-tonne-a-year underground operations with an expected mine life of 20 years.

In OZ Minerals’ presentation at the Copper to the World Conference in Adelaide this week, led by general manager transformation and readiness Katie Hulmes, the company acknowledged the importance of climate change in the industry.

Collaboration partner Rocky Mountain Institute said in a separate statement there was “no silver bullet solution for the climate crisis. It will take innovation and collaboration between leaders from all countries and sectors, at all levels, with diverse skill sets and cultural backgrounds, to make the bold and ambitious changes that will make every part of our global economy sustainable.”