LINE Hydrogen has entered into an agreement with Blue Cap Mining to develop the energy needs of the Lord Byron gold mine in Western Australia.
An industrial technology
LINE Hydrogen and its partner Blue Cap Mining aim to develop the first carbon neutral mine. It will also be one of only two active mines in Australia to reach this milestone. Development of the project is expected to begin in early 2023.
The company will design, develop and operate renewable technologies to replace fossil fuel-based electricity generation. The technology is based on a renewable hydrogen production plant. In addition, hydrogen will replace diesel fuel for on-site operations.
The mining sector accounts for about 10% of total energy consumption in Australia. Thus, it consumes about 14.3 billion liters of diesel per year. LINE Hydrogen will produce hydrogen with 100% renewable energy.
Substantial savings
LINE Hydrogen uses a process called electrolysis whose only by-products are drinking water and medical grade oxygen. The partnership with Blue Cap Mining encompasses the vision set by the company 7 or 8 years ago. It includes the supply of extraction and processing equipment on site.
The Lord Byron mine is expected to operate at a throughput of approximately 1.2 Mtpa. The incorporation of renewable energy and renewable hydrogen will produce approximately 49GW of electricity each year. As a result, the mine will save 13.2 million liters of diesel fuel per year.
The partnership between the Lord Byron Mine and LINE Hydrogen will create an additional 150 jobs in the region. In addition, the project will complete the pre-feasibility phase by the end of 2022. After that, construction should begin within 18 months.
