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Building a low-emission, scalable energy plant at a remote Canadian mine site Building a low-emission, scalable energy plant at a remote Canadian mine site

Building a low-emission, scalable energy plant at a remote Canadian mine site

Client: Foran

Location: Saskatchewan, Canada

Sectors: Mining

The Challenge

Powering a remote mine with growing energy demands

Ever been on a construction site so cold that the cranes stop working and the pipes freeze over? Where a rubber hose has to be thawed out before you can even connect it to a generator?

That’s the challenge our team faced when we partnered with Foran to install a temporary natural gas power plant for their expanding mine in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada.

Not only was the entire area carpeted in snow, but the existing electricity transmission line was unable to provide sufficient power. They needed to figure out how to get electricity into the site to get the work started, without costs and emissions soaring as a result – and keep adding capacity as the project progressed through each stage.

Key Facts

On-site temperature -35 °F
LNG generators 8 x 1,300 kW
Total energy capacity 10.4 MW
Building a low-emission, scalable energy plant at a remote Canadian mine site

The Solution

An innovative temporary energy plant using rugged, greener generators

Foran’s ultimate vision is to build a net-zero emission copper mine – and they wanted to start the project out right with the greenest and cleanest options, and limit the amount of emissions.

But without a fixed energy source or an alternative method to generate electricity before the electrical infrastructure is installed, you need generators. For a site of this size, that means a lot of generators. And the fleet would have to be shipped in incrementally, and built up piece by piece as demands increased.

Using eight 1,300 kW natural gas generators plus transformers and switchgear, we built Foran an on-site energy plant that was not only low emissions but also modular and adaptable enough to scale to meet their changing needs, no matter what the weather threw at them.

Through this partnership, we were able to provide Foran with a solution that met their immediate energy demands while staying true to their long-term sustainability goals, no matter the challenges posed by the environment.

The Impact

Collaborative partnership for reliable electricity with reduced emissions

In collaboration with Foran Mining, we worked together to swiftly implement a temporary LNG energy plant at their site.

Our solution provided capacity for 10.4 MW of power at 13.8 kV of power for the mine construction site, which reduced the site’s dependency on diesel.

The result? Lower costs, reduced emissions, and maximized production, without worrying about unplanned outages. Foran was able to start work on construction without delay - and if they finish building before a permanent electricity solution is in place, they can also keep using this energy plant to operate their mine.

Despite the location, our team can even remotely monitor performance and pre-empt any problems using a Starlink WiFi connection, giving the customer 24/7 peace of mind.

Building a low-emission, scalable energy plant at a remote Canadian mine site
Building a low-emission, scalable energy plant at a remote Canadian mine site

Before

  • Limited permanent or scalable electricity access at the mine site
  • The risk of falling behind schedule if a solution couldn’t be found
  • Reliance on diesel generators to supplement the current 25kV transmission line

After

  • Reliable electricity to support the project for the next 2+ years until a transmission line can be built
  • Reduction in use of diesel after we finished our installation and commissioning, cutting costs and emissions
  • 24/7 support from Aggreko to ensure maximum uptime