Taranis Power Group was engaged by Newcrest to assist with their dewatering operations at Lihir, a remote gold mine in PNG. The mine is uniquely situated in the crater of an active volcano on a small remote island nearly 1000kms from Port Moresby.

As the operation is located directly on the coast, they are constantly battling against a high water-table. Taranis Power Group provided a VarioGen solution in the form of 3 Caterpillar C18 600kVA generators to operate 350kW submersible pumps.

The VarioGen system is equipped with advanced pump motor monitoring and protections which greatly extend the life of the assets even in the extreme temperatures and pH levels of the water pumping in this volcanic region.

The generators maintain a flow rate of 172 litres per second, in contrast to the much larger Caterpillar C27 Generators, in a traditional installation, are on-site and only delivering 100 litres per second at similar lift heights.

The relationship between Taranis Power Group and Newcrest is continuing to grow and we are exploring how we can utilise VarioGen across a wider range of applications and sites on their behalf.