Mining: Powering Operations with Natural Gas

Mine operators around the world have found that natural gas power plants can reliably support the operations associated with mining minerals such as coal, iron ore, gold and silver.

Cat^® Dealers support mining customers by offering:

• World-class load transient response capability
• Power plant design and logistics support
• On-site maintenance and repair services

How It Works

Many mining operations take place in remote parts of the world where access to large electric utility feeds is either unavailable or requires significant investments in electrical transmission and distribution. Many of these same sites have easier access to a natural gas infrastructure, while others have discovered that liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a cost-saving alternative to operating a diesel system.

Cat dealers provide natural gas-fueled electric generator sets in stationary or mobile enclosures, with fuel train components and PLC-based paralleling switchgear controls to automatically meet the changing load requirements of a mining operation. Cat^® gas gensets can be coupled with exhaust aftertreatment to meet the most stringent global emissions requirements.

Natural gas gensets hold many advantages over centralized utility power including:

• Elimination of transmission and distribution investment
• Shorter lead time
• Modular and transportable
• Over 90 percent energy efficiency

Natural gas generator sets also hold many advantages over turbines:

• Higher transient response capability
• Scalable for efficiency: Generator sets can be started and stopped based on peak loads
• Quick starts: Power can be put online in seconds instead of minutes

 
Learn more about generating power from Coal Mine Methane.