Vietnam's Nui Phao Polymetallic Mine is owned by Masan Resources, a subsidiary of Vietnam's largest private company, Masan Group, and it is expected to set a new benchmark for state-of-the-art mining in country. This, thanks to ABB's solutions to power and automate the mine while maximizing productivity, energy efficiency and grid stability.
Nui Phao is a polymetallic mine with significant deposits of tungsten, fluorspar, bismuth, and copper. Once at full production rates by the end of 2013, the mine will be the largest producer of tungsten outside of China, and among the largest sources of top-grade fluorspar and bismuth in the world.
ABB has been awarded around a dozen contracts from Masan Resources to supply a vast array of electrical and automation solutions to power and automate the mine and connect it to the high-voltage transmission grid. The contracts are worth around $20 million.
The solutions include power transformers, medium-voltage switchgear and power factor correction equipment to connect the mine to the transmission grid and ensure a reliable supply of high-quality electricity to the site.
The entire mine will be controlled by an Extended Automation System 800xA solution that includes process control, electrical control, information management and asset optimization – all fully integrated onto the same system 800xA platform.
