Bellevue Gold Limited has taken a pivotal step towards its aspirational goal of becoming Australia’s first ASX listed gold miner with net-zero emissions for the Bellevue Gold Project, by signing an early works agreement with Energy Developments Pty Ltd (EDL) and locking in long-lead items for its power station ready for the processing plant commissioning in mid-2023.
This agreement is a key step in Bellevue’s strategy to be powered by a forecast average of 80% renewable energy each year using a wind, solar and battery hybrid power solution.
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EDL built, owns and operates a similar turnkey power solution at the Agnew gold mine located approximately 35km south of the Bellevue Gold Project.
Bellevue and EDL are currently negotiating a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the project, which is subject to approval by the Boards of both EDL and Bellevue.
The gold miner’s industry-leading power solution is central to the company’s goal of generating the lowest carbon emissions per ounce of gold produced by any major Australian gold mine, with forecast emissions of between 0.15t CO2e/oz to 0.2t CO2e/oz.
As well as being the lowest emitter on a per ounce basis, the project is forecast to have the lowest total Scope 1 emissions of any major mine in Australia. This will give the project the cleanest power supply in Australia based on a greenhouse gas per kilowatt hour basis of power generation.
By reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with a renewable energy power station and undertaking other sustainable initiatives, the gold miner aims to produce carbon-neutral gold, giving the company a major competitive advantage in global investment markets. This also provides potential for the company to seek a premium for the sale of ‘green gold’.
The power station will prioritise the use of renewable energy and will also include a gas engine configuration, which will ensure there is always sufficient power for the mine, even in the rare absence of solar and wind resources. EDL will supply trucked LNG to the Bellevue Gold Project to maintain optionality for any future technological innovations in thermal generation alternative fuels. Importantly, trucked LNG provides a much cleaner fuel than diesel which was an important consideration to reduce emissions as far as possible.
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At a steady-state production rate of 1Mtpa, renewable energy is expected to meet up to 80% of the project’s annual electricity needs, taking advantage of the region’s strong solar and wind resources. Bellevue has been modelling the wind speeds and direction with a SODAR unit, which has allowed for the integration of wind turbines to increase the renewable energy penetration rate.
Maximising renewable energy uptake has been a key design consideration for the processing facility. The facility will have the ability to use more power—such as crushing and heating—when increased renewable energy is available, reducing thermal requirements.
