Energy Management in Mining Companies Must Change

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Energy Management in Mining Companies Must Change 

As energy costs continue to rise and natural resources are under  increasing pressure, there’s been a shift in how energy is consumed and these resources are managed in the mining industry.

According to Sallyanne Bond, a Business Development Manager at Optimal Energy Solutions, miners are now looking to reduce overheads and operating costs involved in energy and resource consumption. 

“Mining companies are big energy consumers and in light of current energy prices, they’re evaluating how they can reduce and monitor energy consumption” she said.

“We’re now seeing the deployment of intelligent technologies help with this dilemma. In particular, there’s increasing interest in remote control of systems and technologies that help energy and resource optimization.”

Ms. Bond said that the first step to reduce operational costs associated with conserving energy and resources is accurate data and measuring tools.

“The key objective is to collect adequate and accurate data from multiple and varied sources in real time. This way, organisations will know exactly how much energy and resources they are wasting.” 

“By changing the way your energy and resource data is measured, delivered and processed it could help save your company a lot of money. For example, we have a client that runs a Diesel powered gen set site with 130 accommodation rooms.  They can have savings up to $420 per day on reduced AC operating times when rooms not in use and managed by IntelleMESH. This is equivalent to $153K per year. "

Optimal Energy Solutions’ flagship system, IntelleMESH, uses cloud technology to quantify energy consumption. It integrates mesh networked sensors and web-based software which allows for data, displays and control from mobile and tablet devices and on many computing platforms. IntelleMESH is the first ready-to-use cloud platform for device networking and management system specifically for the resource industry.

“IntelleMESH is capable of displaying real time data, meaning changes and trends in energy use can be monitored and responded to instantaneously.  This makes it an attractive option for companies who have remote sites and want to monitor or control how their resources are being utilised,” said Ms. Bond.

“The application of intelligent monitoring and control contribute significantly towards the efficiency, competitiveness and sustainability of any mining operation. Take for example, air conditioners in mining camps which are heavy power users. Through the use of intelligent energy management software, the company can adjust operating times and shift rosters which can result in significant savings.”

In a time when mining companies are criticised for not doing enough for the environment, companies need to take the next step to measure energy use and manage it intelligently to help bottom line profitability.

“All too often mining companies think the response to rising energy costs is to use less energy. This is only part of the solution. The current situation with energy prices in fact represents an opportunity for companies to measure and evaluate their energy and resource consumption and respond accordingly.”

“Energy use and resource consumption information is a vital range of data points that companies use to lower their carbon footprint and improve operations. This way of thinking will help them execute an intelligent approach to managing and reducing energy and effectively boost profitability.”

About Optimal Energy Solutions:

We have more than  25 years of proven experience providing reliable and results driven data  logging for remote areas.

Optimal Energy Solutions has recognised a need for accurate data providing a concise picture of resource consumption and has developed an industry first ready-to-use cloud platform Energy Management   software specifically for mining camp operators.

We believe our Energy Management solution will strengthen sustainability and energy efficiencies to any company. Our goal is provide an intelligent approach to managing and reducing energy and resource wastage, effectively providing better profitability.

To hear more about this important topic you can also listen to a recent podcast with Sallyanne here. The podcast offers strategies for how companies can reduce costs in relation to their energy consumption at mining camps.