Ottawa has announced an investment of $2.1 million for a green mining project aimed at developing an alternative to the mechanical compressors currently used in underground mining, one that is expected to reduce energy consumption and costs for compressed air by almost 40 per cent.
The alternative compressors will be deployed at Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd.’s Holloway Mine.
Kirkland Lake Gold will use Sudbury-based Electrale Innovation Ltd’s hydraulic air compressor (HAC) technology, which relies on water and gravity to compress air. The cooler, drier, oil-free compressed air will also improve equipment maintenance and reliability at Kirkland Lake Gold’s Holloway Mine.
“Kirkland Lake Gold is delighted to be working with NRCan and the project partners on this hydraulic air compressor deployment,” says Alasdair Federico, executive VP of Kirkland Lake Gold. “By reducing energy consumption without negatively impacting costs and performance, Electrale’s hydraulic air compressor is a perfect fit with our sustainable mining objectives, and we are proud to take a leading role in the commercial deployment of this technology.”
Funded through Natural Resources Canada’s Clean Growth Program, this project is harnessing the HAC technology to bring it to commercial scale in an operational underground mine and to build a new industry standard for compression in applications beyond underground mining.
The Clean Growth Program is a $155-million investment fund that helps emerging clean technologies further reduce their impacts on air, land and water while enhancing competitiveness and creating jobs.
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