Commissioning of the first gas generators is underway ahead of schedule in the power station at the Tropicana Gold Mine in Western Australia following early completion of the 293 kilometre Eastern Goldfields Pipeline (EGP).
Constructed by APA Group (APA) under long-term agreements signed with AngloGold Ashanti Australia Ltd in July 2014, the pipeline is delivering natural gas to AGAA’s Sunrise Dam gold mine, 55 km south of Laverton, and to Tropicana (AGAA 70% and manager, Independence Group NL 30%), 330 km east-northeast of Kalgoorlie.
Construction of the pipeline began in March this year and delivery of gas was scheduled to begin in January 2016, but the project was successfully completed ahead of time this month, enabling early commissioning at both sites.
Sunrise Dam’s power station is now running on natural gas following conversion late last month. The switch to natural gas from a combination of LNG and diesel at the Sunrise Dam power station required two new gas generation sets to be installed by site power station owner Energy Developments Ltd, and Pacific Energy, which owns and operates the power station at Tropicana, is currently commissioning the first two of the 17 new gas generators that will replace diesel power at that site.
Although both mines will run on 100% natural gas they will retain diesel backup capability.
Michael Erickson, AngloGold Ashanti Senior Vice President Australia, said successful completion of the pipeline safely and ahead of schedule was a credit not only to the highly skilled construction team, but also to the collaborative way in which the planning and preparation work was carried out by APA and AngloGold Ashanti, both of which provided expertise to the project.
Mr Erickson thanked APA and the many other stakeholders who have supported the project.
“The natural gas delivered by the EGP will underpin the future of AngloGold Ashanti’s Australian operations by reducing exposure to diesel price volatility and significantly reducing the number of trucks on the road, which has an important safety benefit as well as reducing road maintenance costs.
“The EGP is also a significant piece of infrastructure for Western Australia and has the potential to benefit other users in this very isolated part of the state.”
The EGP links to APA’s Goldfields Gas Pipeline via the Murrin Murrin Lateral.