High in the Peruvian Andes mountains, at an altitude of 4,300 meters and about 270 kilometers north of Lima, development of the Antamina copper/zinc mine project is progressing rapidly. The remote Antamina mine is situated in a weak electrical network. The mine will constitute a large electrical load that the feeding transmission grid could not accommodate. Given this challenging environment, where the cost of reinforcing the transmission circuits was tremendous, the consortium responsible for the overall mining project, Compania Minera Antamina (CMA) turned to FACTS for a competitive solution.
CMA purchased from ABB the SVC needed to support the 220 kV electrical network in both steady-state and during contingencies. The contract was signed for 135 Mvar thyristor controlled, Static Var Compensator (SVC), without which the operation of the massive electrical machinery within the mine was restricted. During steady-state operation of the mine the SVC will provide voltage support for the 120 MW worth of large motors, adjustable speed drives and cycloconverter drives used to crush and process the raw material that is collected. During contingencies, such as recovery from lightning strikes or loss of one of the nearby transmission circuits, the SVC will also help to eliminate the risk of a costly trip of these motors and drives.
ABB delivered the SVC through a contract with the US-based Bechtel Corporation, which is the subcontractor responsible for all of the electrical equipment to be supplied for the Antamina project. The compensator is located at the Vizcarra substation, approximately 50 km southeast of the mine, and was brought into service during the spring of 2001.