Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/638235
56 www.resourceworld.com f e b r u a r y / m a r c h 2 0 1 6 MININGWORLD The Diavik Diamond Mine is located in Canada's far north on a 20 km 2 island, at Lac de Gras, Northwest Territories. The mine is approximately 300 km from Yellowknife and just 220 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle. The site is only road accessible for eight to 10 weeks during the winter when conditions allow for the construction of an ice road. In the summer, the tundra sur- rounding the mine is wet where it is not rocky; the mine is surrounded by water. One of the challenges a remote mine must meet is the sourcing of a reliable energy supply. The Diavik Mine is a big operation with an average workforce of 1,000 employees. The area where the mine is located is 150 km north of the tree line where temperatures can get as low as -45°C. A dependable power supply is not only critical for mine operation; the safety of its employees depends on it as well. Like many other remote mines, Diavik relied on diesel fuel for all of its energy needs. Diavik has an onsite storage capacity for 80 million litres of diesel fuel. On November 3, 2011, after several years of studying renewable energy resources, Diavik Diamond Mines announced the start of construction of a wind farm. The wind farm is a milestone project for cold climate energy generation. It was the first, large-scale, wind farm constructed in the Northwest Territories. The four E-70 Enercon 2.3 megawatt turbine wind farm has an installed capacity of 9.2 megawatts and is expected to provide power for the mine's full lifespan, through to 2023. The extremely cold climate did pres- ent some particular challenges for the wind farm. 2012/2013 proved to be one of the coldest winters in the last 30 years. In December 2012 and January 2013, the wind turbines were for the most part, shut down. To address the cold climate challenges, electronics were replaced, 600 volt heaters were installed inside the turbines and diesel generators were placed outside the turbines to power the heaters. Blade heating com- ponents were replaced and lubricants were replaced with a type of lubricant better suited to cold weather operation. As well, new programming for the turbines was installed and support was improved. This is all valuable information for future remote, DiAvik DiAmonD mine leader in cold-climate, off-grid, renewable energy by Kathrine Moore