Challenges faced during implementation of a compressed air energy savings project on a gold mine

Abstract

Various challenges influence the implementation of an energy savings project on mine compressed air systems. These include, among others, operational changes, control limitations, industrial actions and installation delays. These challenges often lead to a project exceeding scheduled implementation time, exceeding the project budget and reduced quality of the achieved results. This study investigates and addresses the challenges faced during the implementation of a compressed air energy savings project on a gold mine. The study shows that although these problems have an impact on the implementation deliverables of the project, significant savings remain possible. An optimisation project is implemented on a gold mine's compressed air network. Despite the challenges that occur during the implementation of the project, an average evening peak-clip saving of 2.61 MW is achieved during the project's consecutive three-month performance assessment period. The power saving produces an annual cost saving of RI.46 million, calculated with the aid of the 201412015 Eskom tariffs.