Case Studies: Asset Sales
Mine Power Generation for Zondereinde, South Africa
25 MW Mine Power Generation to Counter Load Shedding
THE CHALLENGE
Zondereinde Mine, a long-life platinum operation near Thabazimbi, producing around 300,000 ounces of refined 4E PGMs annually, faced serious operational risk from Eskom load shedding. The mine required additional base load power generation capacity to maintain underground operations and processing without extended procurement lead times.
The Solution
Northam Platinum Limited purchased six zero-hour surplus Wabtec GE16V250 generator sets through USP&E. We supplied the units complete with auxiliaries, packaged and serviced them, and delivered them to the Zondereinde Mine site. USP&E is the authorised sales and O&M partner for Wabtec (USA) and was also selected to supply spare parts for the installation.
The Outcome
The mine secured 25 MW of reliable diesel-fired base load power generation to support operations during frequent Eskom load shedding events. The asset-based approach delivered both speed and cost efficiency, avoiding the delays associated with new equipment manufacture.
Client Reference
“With tremendous support from our partners at AIS and SDE, as well as USP&E’s in-house logistics and project management teams, the project was delivered on time and on budget.” – Northam Platinum Client
Built for the Frontier
This project demonstrates Ownership and Agility in action: USP&E delivered verified, deployment-ready assets to keep a critical mining operation running when grid supply could not be relied upon. That is what Powering Access means.
Facing a power challenge in a frontier market?
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