ABB Substation for Kansanhi Mine Expected to Improve Zambia's Power Network

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Kansanshi copper mine, which is located in Zambia and is one of Africa's largest, is expecting to employ an additional 2,400 people following the implementation of new projects in its current expansion phase. The Sentinel and smelter projects are within 18 months of commissioning and start up. The mine is owned by First Quantum Minerals (Vancouver, Canada) .

FQM has awarded ABB Limited (NYSE:ABB) (Zurich, Switzerland) a $32 million contract for the construction of a new substation and upgrade to an existing installation.

The scope of the turnkey contract covers design, engineering, supply and installation. Key supplies include high- and medium-voltage, air-insulated switchgear and power transformers. The substation also will be equipped with automation, control and protection systems to enable local and remote monitoring and control of the power assets.

A remote-end substation is located 400 kilometers from the mine. ABB will supply telecommunications systems and photovoltaic (PV) power repeater stations to facilitate long-distance transmission of digital signals by fiber optic cables.

The new substation will be a main node in the new 330-kilovolt (kV) transmission ring, which will link Zambia's capital Lusaka and the northern industrial Copperbelt area with the main supply transmission. The project, which is scheduled for completion in 2014, will improve the quality of the power in the Zambian network.

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