Energy consumption standards and costs in South African gold and platinum mines

Tshisekedi, Jean Rene Ngalamulume

Energy consumption standards and costs in South African gold and platinum mines

dc.contributor.author	Tshisekedi, Jean Rene Ngalamulume
dc.date.accessioned	2009-06-24T12:10:03Z
dc.date.available	2009-06-24T12:10:03Z
dc.date.issued	2009-06-24T12:10:03Z
dc.description.abstract	Benchmarking of selected energy use indicators and related best practices definition are helpful tools in establishing an effective energy reduction and energy efficiency strategy. The current energy scarcity exposed by electricity supply shortage in South Africa is an opportunity to assess and determine consumption limits for major consumers, including the mining sector for which gold and platinum producers are among the highest consumers. This dissertation develops, using a survey questionnaire, visits on mine sites and interviews for data collection and analysis, a range of energy consumption indicators and related costs. These indicators are related to mining depth, mechanization and production. These are the most energy intensive parameters for underground mines and influence the growth rate of energy consumption. A relationship between these parameters and the energy consumption data constitute the main findings of this work. The acceptable limits and averages of energy consumption can be used to compare different and specific energy intensive activities involved in the mining process, costs of mines operating in similar conditions, to develop energy efficiency improvement plans and saving targets and to forecast mine unit demand of power in short and mid–term for gold and platinum mines.	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10539/7043
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.title	Energy consumption standards and costs in South African gold and platinum mines	en
dc.type	Thesis	en