Application
Diesel Generators for Mining
A mine buys two different machines. One is a prime-power plant that runs the mill, the crushers and the dewatering pumps for as long as the site operates. The other is the standby plant that keeps the camp, the ventilation and the communications alive when the grid dips. Both are bought on hours, not on price, and both are sized by the largest motor that starts across the line.
Mining plants in the Philippines and across Southeast Asia are normally quoted between 500 kVA and 2000 kVA per set, in containerized or skid builds, run in parallel groups of two to four with N+1 redundancy, and fed from bulk fuel storage.
Requirements
What a mining specification has to state
| Item | Typical requirement | Why it changes the set |
|---|---|---|
| Total load and duty | Mill, crushers, conveyors, pumps and camp, running as prime power | A prime plant is rated for continuous variable load, not for the duration of an outage |
| Largest motor | Often a mill or crusher drive started across the line | Starting current, not running load, decides the number of sets and their rating |
| Redundancy | N+1 on the plant bus, with machines that can be serviced one at a time | Fixes the set count; the redundant set is a capital cost, not a spare |
| Paralleling | Load sharing and load-dependent start and stop across two to four sets | Decides the controllers, the switchboard and the protection scheme |
| Power factor | Large induction motors, often corrected at the motor | Poor power factor wastes alternator capacity and changes the kVA you buy |
| Dust | Heavy airborne dust at crushing and conveying areas | Adds heavy-duty air filtration, sealed enclosures and more frequent service |
| Ambient and altitude | 35-45 °C at low altitude; derating at altitude on some sites | Both reduce usable output, and the derating is applied before the set is chosen |
| Fuel | Bulk storage, day tanks, fuel polishing and consumption metering | Fuel is the largest operating cost; metering it per set is how the cost is found |
| Enclosure | Containerized, walk-in for service, or skid mounted under a roof | Decides whether service can be done in the wet season without opening the plant |
| Site conditions | Remote, tropical, poor roads, sometimes coastal or estuarine | Drives the spares holding, the corrosion specification and the lifting plan |
Configurations
Configurations we quote most often
| Rating per set | Typical arrangement | Fits | Range page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300-500 kVA / 240-400 kW | Two sets in parallel, prime duty, containerized | Camp supply, workshops, small quarries and dewatering | 500 kVA |
| 800 kVA / 640 kW | Three sets in parallel, N+1, prime duty | Crushing and conveying plants, process water | 800 kVA |
| 1000 kVA / 800 kW | Three or four sets in parallel, N+1 | Milling plants and full site power where the grid is absent | 1000 kVA |
| 2000 kVA / 1600 kW | Multiple sets in parallel with load-dependent start and stop | Large concentrators and smelter support loads | 2000 kVA |
Reference configuration
A worked plant example
This is the shape of a quotation for a prime-power plant at a crushing and conveying site, not a catalogue entry.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Plant load | 1850 kW running, largest motor 250 kW started across the line |
| Sets | 3 × 800 kVA prime / 640 kW, two running and one standby at full plant load |
| Electrical | 400/230 V, 50 Hz, 1500 rpm, three phase, 0.8 power factor |
| Build | 20 ft containerized, walk-in, dust filtration, heavy-duty air cleaner |
| Control | Paralleling controllers with load sharing, load-dependent start and stop, and synchronising |
| Fuel | Day tanks at each set fed from a bulk tank, with polishing and consumption metering |
| Protection | Overcurrent, earth fault, reverse power and low coolant level, wired to the plant control room |
| Testing | Parallel load bank test at 100% of plant load before dispatch, with the test sheet issued |
Questions
Questions we are asked about mine power plants
How do you size a prime-power plant rather than a single generator?
By the running load plus the starting step, with the diversity of the plant applied first and the redundancy second. The largest motor started across the line is the number that decides whether the plant needs two sets or three: a 250 kW motor starting direct-on-line can pull more than the rest of the plant put together for a few seconds.
Why not run every set all the time at part load?
Because a diesel engine run below about 40% load for long periods glazes its bores and wets its exhaust, and the fuel consumption per kWh rises sharply. Load-dependent start and stop is how a plant keeps its running sets near their efficient band and still carries the peaks. On a mine the fuel saving usually pays for the paralleling controls within a year or two.
How much fuel storage does a mine plant need?
Enough for the longest realistic interruption in the supply chain, which on a remote site in the Philippines is often the wet season rather than the road. Work back from the daily consumption at the expected load, add the day tanks and the polishing circuit, and note that a large bulk tank carries its own permitting and bunding requirements.
What does dust do to a generator?
It loads the air filter and the radiator, and it conducts when it is wet, so the electrical joints in the control panel are the ones that fail first. Heavy-duty filtration, sealed enclosures and a shorter service interval are the practical answers. On a crushing plant a filter that would last 500 hours on a clean site lasts a small fraction of that.
Can the sets be supplied containerized for a site with poor roads?
Yes, and it is the usual choice for a mine. A container protects the machine in transit, can be handled with standard lifting gear, and gives the service team a weatherproof place to work in the wet season. The alternative on very restricted access is a skid-mounted set lifted in pieces.
Related
Related applications and ranges
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Diesel generators by application
How the requirement changes between data centres, hospitals, hotels, telecom sites and mines.
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Construction sites
Prime power on a load list that changes every week.
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Containerized sets
ISO container packages for remote and export sites.
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1000 kVA class
800 kW, a common building block for a mine power plant.
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Indonesia
50 Hz, 380 V, containerized plants for mining and smelting projects.
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Request a quote
Send the load model and the largest motor, and we size the plant.
Sizing a mine power plant?
Send the running load, the largest motor that starts across the line, the redundancy you need and the fuel storage available on site.