In the mining industry, energy costs for power generation and mobile equipment operations are driven by a reliance on diesel fuels. MinRes is transitioning to cleaner and cheaper gas solutions and is investing in gas fuel sources for a cleaner future for us and our industry.
We are working to future proof the supply of natural gas to fuel our sites, allowing us to reduce our dependence on diesel fuels.
MinRes is currently installing gas power solutions for our remote operations, while also assessing off-grid renewable energy sources including solar and wind power generation complemented with battery storage.
Gas and LNG power stations are delivering significant emissions savings at our Mt Marion and Wodgina lithium operations in the Goldfields and Pilbara respectively.
This includes a 64 megawatt (MW) capable power station at Wodgina, the largest of its kind on a mine site in the southern hemisphere.
The successful installation of a 2.1MW, solar panel-battery system at our Wonmunna Iron Ore Project in the Pilbara was another major step forward in our decarbonisation pathway.
Commissioning of the combined solar-battery system finished during FY23 and is expected to reduce diesel consumption by approximately 760,000 litres each year and carbon emissions on site by around 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
During the warmer summer months, it is expected that the system will achieve more than 40% displacement.
MinRes’ transition to alternative gas solutions complements our progressive decarbonisation strategy, which also includes hybrid and full electrification of our mobile fleet, adoption of new technology and the work MinRes is doing to develop a proof of concept world-first battery-powered autonomous road trains for our Onslow Iron project.