At a joint ceremony held by the Barrick Gold Corporation and the provincial government in San Juan (Argentina), Mike Janela of Guinness World Records recently presented a certificate to Barrick for its wind generator, which operates at a height of 4,110 m above sea level in the Andes Mountains; making it the world’s highest wind turbine. It took 10 days to assemble the turbine and 15 more to link it to the electrical network of the Veladero gold mine, which it has powered since December of 2007.
Meeting 20% of the mine’s demand
The 2-MW D8.2 turbine was built by the German company DeWind and supplied by the British company SeaWind. Due to its placement, the machine must endure extreme cold, strong snowfall and high winds, which even top 222 Km/h. In these conditions, the turbine is capable of generating 20% of the mine’s electricity. According to Barrick, wind power creates 26 times less of a negative impact on the environment than coal energy, 21 times less than oil, 10 times less than nuclear and five times less of an impact than natural gas.
“The wind generator is a majestic sight and its existence is even more impressive when you think of the difficulty in shipping something so massive to Argentina from Germany and then hiking it up a mountain to assemble,” explained Janela – clearly impressed during his visit to the mine.
After receiving the certificate, which is the first world wind record in the whole of South America, Barrick then presented it along with a plaque of recognition to the government of San Juan for its role in the existence and operation of the turbine and mine.
“What struck me most after the ceremony was just how much pride the government and Barrick took in this generator, and how much interest and curiosity the local population held in the record,” adds Janela. “Congratulations to Barrick for its achievement and to the government of San Juan for its role in bringing Guinness World Records to northwest Argentina!”
Meanwhile, Dante Vargas, general manager of Valadero declared that: “This certificate highlights Barrick’s commitment to continue developing clean and renewable energy at all our sites. This turbine shows that the people of San Juan can work on high-tecyhnology projects and help to protect our planet”.
The Veladero open cast gold and silver mine has been in operation since 2005. It has reserves of 11.4 million ounces (more than 320 thousand kilos) of precious metal and an estimated useful life of 14 years. It generates 21% of the GDP of the province of San Juan. Headquartered in Canada, the Barrick Gold Corporation is the largest gold mining company in the world, operating 27 mines in 15 different countries.
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