Implementing DSM interventions on water reticulation systems of marginal deep level mines

Abstract

South Africa's steep electricity tariff increases have forced the mining industry to be more cost effective. One way is by implementing demand side management (DSM) projects. Energy saving priorities focused mainly on mines with large energy consumption and long “life-of-mine”. If paybacks are short enough, it should be a feasible investment to implement DSM projects. This could extend the “life-of-mine” of marginal mines. To assist with investigations, procedures are introduced to estimate the potential savings and required capital costs. These procedures were developed by analysing previous projects implemented by the CRCED PTA research group. Energy cost savings strategies are proposed for the dewatering-, refrigeration- and water distribution systems. A case study is used to show the benefit of the proposed procedures. Since capital investment on marginal mines is limited, breakdowns and equipment failures may be frequent. This may negatively influence saving and project paybacks