<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/giant-remote-zinc-mine-aims-to-reach-at-least-80-pct-renewables-with-addition-of-wind-farm-and-big-battery/>
"The owners of one of the world’s largest zinc mines, located in remote
north-west Queensland, plan to run the project with at least 80 per cent
renewables following the addition of a large wind farm and a big battery.
The Dugald River mine, owned by Chinese company MMG and located around 65 kms
north east of Cloncurry, already sources one third of its power needs from an
88 megawatt solar farm that begun operation in 2024.
It has now received funds from the Queensland state government’s North West
Energy Fund to advance the development of a 144 MW wind farm, plus a big
battery, that will become one of the biggest remote hybrid facilities in the
country.
“This endorsement will help support a final investment decision on the first
stage of the wind farm, which has the potential to benefit not only Dugald
River Mine, but the highly prospective North West Minerals Province as a
whole,” Dr Akroyd said.
“We are targeting 80-plus per cent of our power to be sourced from renewables
as we position Dugald River as a mine of the future – one that embraces
technology, electrification and long-term investment in the region.”
A number of off-grid mines – extracting gold, lithium and rare earths – are
operating at renewable levels of more than 90 per cent in remote areas of
Western Australia, including two that are backed by Australia’s richest person,
Gina Rinehart, an outspoken critic of renewable technologies.
The scale of the Dugald River mine is much larger, and the switch to renewables
has been made necessary by the soaring cost of fossil fuels, particularly gas.
It was cited as the main reason that MMG trebled the size of its original wind
farms so it can source nearly all its power needs from wind and solar, backed
by the battery."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
