Oz Minerals, a Sydney-listed miner has given its final investment permission to develop the massive copper-nickel project in Western Australia. The company has stated that it will initially obtain 80 per cent of the energy needs for the West Musgrave Project through an off-grid hybrid renewable power solution.
According to Oz Minerals, the majority of the energy needs for the copper and nickel mine will be supplied by a battery energy storage system and an optimum blend of solar PV and wind power. This will be backed up by diesel-fueled generation. Furthermore, the company stated that the renewable power solution would have a nominal 50 MW base case power supply, with room for expansion.
Oz Minerals anticipates that production will begin at the West Musgrave site in late 2025. In each of its first five years, West Musgrave is expected to produce an average of 35,000 tonnes of nickel concentrate and 41,000 tonnes of copper concentrate, with production increasing to 27,000 tonnes of nickel and 33,000 tonnes per year throughout the course of 24-year mine life.
