Modern Mining April 2022

realise, however, is that, embedding a decarboni sation strategy, or an energy reduction mindset, in operational practices and the company culture more generally, can facilitate significant cost benefits, and improve operational performance and the safety and well-being of employees. Studies conducted over the years, including a research paper by global auditing firm Deloitte titled, ‘The bottom line: Driving value through energy man agement in mining’, have estimated that, with the right management plan in place, mining operations may be able to reduce their energy consumption by between 15-20%. Needless to say, this will have a positive knock-on impact on the efforts to decar bonise. But to accomplish this will require a holistic approach to energy management encompassing baseline consumption measurement, advanced analytic applications to interrogate data, and the identification and implementation of specific energy efficiency initiatives. Taking stock of this situation is a group of ex mining and electrical engineering stalwarts who understand the needs and obligations of mining companies. They have banded together under the umbrella of Voltvision, to offer the market an intelligent big data, energy and electrical asset man agement solution. This solution extracts all power usage data gener ated by electrical equipment located on high voltage networks, even the power that is not used and, con sequently, lost. This data is then cloud analysed and presented back to the mine operators to help them better visualise and understand how their power net work and electrical machinery is behaving. The plug-and play system has been designed to be cost effective and flexible. It requires no shut down time for installation, nor does it require a visit from the Voltvision team as the system is simple and user-friendly for onsite personnel. As there are no limitations on existing software platforms or electri cal equipment, the software can comprehensively collect up to 2,000 datapoints making it a valuable digital asset throughout the technical, operational and commercial spectrum.

The benefits are extensive. Primarily, the accu rate monitoring of power quality and usage enabling unbalanced and inconsistent power, which leads directly to power losses and excess consumption to be corrected. The efficiencies implemented on the back of such an analysis could reduce their Scope 1 and 2 power energy consumption by as much as 20% annually. This will not only result in significant cost savings, but will help to meet global greenhouse gas emission targets. As the data is time stamped it is compliant with all existing ESG frameworks so reporting reduc tions is accepted by investors and regulators An equally important function of the platform is its predictive maintenance capabilities. The design ers have teamed up with some impressive academic institutions to develop specific fault and machine based algorithms. These allow for advanced warning as equipment faults develop, and maintain optimum energy output regardless of the age of the equip ment or site. Not only does this feature enable precise maintenance planning but also the exten sion of maintenance and lifecycles, reducing the frequency of shutdowns and CAPEX requirement. Examples of early adopters include Anglo American, where Voltvision is working to monitor the company’s new hydrogen electrolyser performance at the Mogalakwena platinum mine, and Endeavour Mining, where power quality and electrical asset performance are being monitored at the Houndé mine in Burkina Faso. 

Voltvision Processor in Operation.

Diagram showing how Voltvision Reduces Power Consumption.

April 2022  MODERN MINING  49