BRW-2 In recent years, the global trend of energy transformation and sustainable development has made lithium resources a hot strategic resource in the world. As a key raw material for consumer electronics and new energy vehicle energy storage components, the demand for lithium continues to grow. In this context, Tsingshan Holdings invested $350 million in the 24,000 tons LCM battery grade lithium extraction project in Argentina’s Centenario-Ratones Salt Lake in the process of going to sea to compete in the global lithium mine development field. According to the plan, the project is expected to start production in succession from 2024 to achieve commercial operation.
As an enterprise with rich experience in overseas projects, Qingshan Holdings is determined to win the smooth operation of this overseas lithium mine development project, and all projects are constructed with the high standards of the industry. However, a number of challenges still need to be addressed in order to proceed on schedule in Argentina’s complex terrain and harsh environment of the Salt Lake mine. Among them, whether to provide sufficient and stable energy supply for facilities and equipment in various regions such as the prenatal area and mining area of lithium mining projects is a challenge that cannot be underestimated.
First of all, the Salt Lake mining area is located at an altitude of more than 3900 meters in the plateau area, and the terrain is complex, the environment is harsh, and sometimes it will face the threat of extreme weather such as storms, tsunamis or geological disasters, which brings great difficulties for personnel to enter aBRW-2 nd construct for a long time. Moreover, as the production project progresses, the area that guarantees power may need to be constantly moved. Therefore, according to the conventional way of approval, the construction of fixed power supply and distribution facilities is simply out of the question.
Second, a fully functional power supply and distribution facility needs to integrate a wide variety of equipment, but also after installation, commissioning before it can be put into use. The facilities and equipment built and operated by Chinese enterprises overseas must not only meet local standards in terms of technical requirements, but also the ability of Chinese enterprises to control local supply chains and labor forces is often not as good as that at home. Once the required materials and equipment are not supplied, or there is a shortage of construction personnel, it will greatly delay the progress of the project and cause unnecessary losses.
In view of these challenges, Qingshan Holdings selected Rockwell’s E-House prefabricated electrical equipment solutions as the “pioneer”, hoping to minimize the risk of project delays, while minimizing the installation and commissioning time of the project to ensure that the project is promoted on time.
Improve efficiency and simplify processes
Achieve cost optimization and sustainability improvement
As a fully functional and flexible prefabricated solution, Rockwell’s E-House prefabricated electBRW-2 rical equipment solution can integrate a full set of low and medium voltage electrical equipment, HVAC system, etc. in a prefabricated space that is easy to transport according to the customized needs of customers. It is especially suitable for applications such as high-altitude oil fields and mining areas with harsh natural geological conditions. And the application of salt spray environment such as ships and offshore platforms.
In the Qingshan Holding Salt Lake Lithium Mine project, many advantages of the E-House solution have been fully utilized, providing a strong guarantee for the smooth progress of the project.
First of all, in terms of time efficiency, E-House is delivered as a complete turnkey project, which greatly reduces the required construction period. In the prefabricated compartment with limited space of E-House, various equipment such as medium and low voltage inverter, switchboard, MCC, transformer, high resistance connection site, E-SCADA, UPS, HVAC and fire fighting system are integrated. In the early stage, Rockwell first completed the custom assembly of the E-House according to customer requirements, and the whole transport to the project site can be quickly deployed and debugging, which not only avoids the cumbersome on-site installation and assembly process, but also reduces the workload of on-site construction, and greatly eliminates the risk of delay caused by force majeure such as bad weather.
At the same time, E-House has also brought great convenience to the advancement of Qingshan Holding’s Yanhu lithium mine project. In addition to most of the equipment integrated in the E-House is provided by Rockwell, some of it needs to be purchased from partners, and combined with local technology and engineering standards, the overall design optimization and integration are carried out, and the entire process is fully financed and implemented by Rockwell. In the entire process, Qingshan Holdings only needs to communicate with Rockwell needs and docking, this one-stop service, greatly simplifying the supply chain management of Qingshan Holdings, can be said to be easy to worry.
Finally, there are cost savings and sustainability improvements. Because E-House not only reduces the approval and construction process of fixed buildings, as well as the need for a large number of on-site construction workers, but also flexibly migrates according to the changes of weather conditions and production processes, the overall cost is effectively saved, the utilization rate of facilities and equipment is improved, and the comprehensive improvement of economic benefits and environmental effects is realized.
Escort Chinese enterprises to sea
E-House as “Trailblazer”
At present, several sets of E-House have been or will be delivered in the Salt Lake lithium mine project of Qingshan Holdings in Argentina, which is expected to shorten the construction cycle of power supply and distribution facilities to a few months, which is undoubtedly of great significance for customers who are racing against the clock on the project schedule. At the same time, the comprehensive benefits and value that E-House brings to the project, such as quality, compliance, cost and sustainability, will also be reflected in the long term throughout the life cycle of the project.
