Providing electrical design and engineering works to support the expansion of copper and gold mine, Northparkes.
Background:
Northparkes is a copper and gold mine located 27 kilometres northwest of Parkes in the Central West region of New South Wales.
The mine site gained final approvals in late 2019 to proceed with the ‘Northparkes Expansion Project’ (NEP), a significant financial investment designed to improve the underground mining, ore processing and infrastructure facilities available on site. These expansion works were commissioned to provide a throughput increase from 6.4Mtpa to 7.6Mtpa.
Ampcontrol was first approached by Northparkes in 2017 to provide a budgetary pricing plan to assist with the expansion project's approval process through Northparkes management. Once approval had been received, we were officially contracted to conduct significant electrical design and engineering works to support the NEP.
Solution:
We provided the detailed design and engineering associated with the installation of a new 40/50MVA transformer within a pre-existing 132kV switchyard that would supply a new 11kV elevated substation, a key piece of critical infrastructure to support the expansion project.
Over the course of the project, we facilitated the:
Design, manufacture and installation of a 40/50MVA transformer (the largest built by Ampcontrol to date)
Detailed design of a 132kV switchyard including load flow study
Design and manufacture of a 16m, 11kV electrical switchroom
Additional studies undertaken including electrical protection, earthing and arc flash studies
Lightning design
Design and supply of a 13MVAR Power Factor Correction unit
Design and supply of a Neutral Earthing Resistor (NER).
Outcome:
At the completion of the project, we had designed, manufactured and tested a 40/50MVA 132/11kV transformer for the NEP, weighing in at 85 tonnes once installed. We also built a 16-metre-long 11kV electrical switchroom for integration within the pre-existing 132kV switchyard. This switchroom would supply power to:
A new 13MVAR Power Factor Correction unit
The upgraded secondary crusher
The 3MW mine winder
The mine site’s underground electrical equipment.
Not only were we able to facilitate the energy needs of Northparkes’ expansion, but we have continued to provide regular HV maintenance and support to date. This included full surface maintenance works during the mine’s site-wide shutdown to commission the new 40/50MVA transformer. Twenty-six workers were onsite simultaneously to ensure its successful completion.
