New Horizons: Costly Hot Air

Special to the Northern Miner

The Ontario Mining Association (OMA) and Ontario Power Authority (OPA) have teamed to fix a small, steady leak that wastes energy and costs mines thousands of dollars each year. The energy-guzzling culprit? Compressed air leaks at Ontario’s mines.

The Sustainable Leak Prevention Program is now under way at three northern Ontario mines with the aim of improving electricity efficiency.

The program could help mining companies save hundreds of thousands of dollars in their operations, and benefit other industries in Ontario that use compressed air.

“In addition to identifying benchmarks and developing ‘best practices’ for the mining industry to help them remain competitive in a global economy, one of the key components of this program is also the promotion of a culture of conservation within the mining industry itself,” says project manager Ivor da Cunha.

Ontario’s mining industry spends more than $500 million on energy each year, accounting for roughly 15-30% of operating costs depending on the type of mining operation. Compressed air systems, found in underground mines, make up a large share of electricity costs. Even small air leaks in these systems can increase electricity costs substantially by causing compressors to overwork, leading to wasted electricity.

For instance, one tiny hole equal to 1/8″ in diameter wastes air at a rate of about 12 litres per second. Even at a low rate of 4 per kilowatt hour, this leak alone can waste more than $1,000 per year — and those in the industry know that most systems that use compressed air have many leaks. Some plants experience a leak rate equal to 20% of total compressed air production capacity.

In a $532,000 project, the OMA will oversee audits of compressed air systems at the Williams gold mine in Hemlo near Marathon, Ont., CVRD Inco’s South nickel mine and FNX Mining’s McCreedy West nickel mine, both in Sudbury, Ont.

“Compressed air systems represent one of our greatest areas of operating and energy inefficiency. The longer a leak goes undetected, the more compressed air and electricity we waste, and the less efficiently our equipment operates,” says Roger Souckey, the employee and public relations co-ordinator at the Williams mine. “A key deliverable of the program will be establishing a trigger mechanism that will prevent leaks by telling us that preventive maintenance is required.”

Funding for 41% of the project comes from OPA’s Conservation Fund, with the balance provided by the OMA and the participating sites.

Key findings of the audits will be presented to the OMA later this month, with a final report submitted to OPA in May.

— The author is the manager of the Conservation Fund at the Ontario Power Authority. The fund was established in 2005 to provide funding for sector-specific electricity conservation pilot projects that help encourage energy conservation awareness in Ontario. The 2007 Conservation Fund budget is $3 million.