Power Supply for a Nigerian Gold Mine

The mine is located 180 km from the nearest town with no grid connection available. The site required a continuous 1,400kVA baseload for crushing mills, ball mills, heap-leach pumps, and worker camp facilities, plus headroom for starting large induction motors.

Dust, ambient temperatures up to 43°C, and poor road access made transport and cooling major concerns. Fuel logistics dictated that the plant needed to operate for at least 5 days between diesel deliveries, requiring on-site bulk storage of 80,000 liters.

We supplied four 500kVA Cummins KTA19-G4 generator sets in heavy-duty weatherproof canopies with cyclone air cleaners and oversized radiators. The sets operate in an N+1 parallel configuration controlled by a ComAp Intellisys system, allowing any one unit to be taken offline for service while the remaining three carry the full site load.

A 100,000-liter double-wall bulk fuel tank was installed with automated fuel polishing and leak detection. The exhaust system used high-temperature resistant mufflers and was routed 8 meters above ground to dissipate heat away from the powerhouse.

Our commissioning engineer stayed on site for 21 days, training the local mechanical team on daily checks, filter replacement, and load-sharing calibration.