Wärtsilä Corp. has confirmed it received a contract order from PT Freeport Indonesia for a 128-megawatt power plant to provide flexible baseload power to its mine expansion project in Indonesia.

The plant will be located at its Amamapare port site in Papua, Indonesia, but will be fed to the Grasberg mine via a 100-kilometre-long transmission line.

The equipment deliver in the contract includes 14 Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel generating sets. The order for eight sets was placed in June, and a further six sets were ordered in September. 

Wärtsilä said a group made up of both companies will install, construct and commission the power plant.

Grasberg, which is extending its operations from open-pit to underground mining, is remotely located in the highlands of the Sudirman Mountain Range in the province of Papua on the western half of the island of New Guinea. 

The copper-gold mine is not connected to the 50-Hz grid; neither is the port site. As the operation is now running on a 60-Hz power supply, the new power is needed to aid with the expansion project.

“We have completed open pit mining at the Grasberg minerals district, and are now developing large-scale, high-grade underground mines. For this it is critical that we have a reliable and efficient energy supply, and the Wärtsilä generating sets will deliver the power we need,” commented George Baninni, executive vice president for PT Freeport Indonesia.

Added Kari Punnonen, energy business director, Australasia for Wärtsilä: “The competitive total lifecycle cost of the Wärtsilä solution was ultimately the deciding factor in the award of this valuable contract. However, we have power plants operating in the vicinity of this site, which provided important references as part of the decision process.”

The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery between July and November 2021. The initial seven engines should be handed over in March 2022, with the remaining seven handed over in July 2022.

Source: Wartsila.com