How Electro Integra used ETAP to perform electrical studies for the expansion of a southern copper mine in Peru

The expansion of the electrical system of the copper mine was accomplished by using a tool like ETAP. ETAP saved us hundreds of engineering man-hours. We were able to create the TCC curves and verify that our protective device settings were correct.
By Gilberto Luy, Technical Manager, Electro Integra SAC

As part of a tailings-dam expansion project, a large, long-operating copper mine in southern Peru needed to increase its power capacity while maintaining continuous operation and high reliability. Existing demand at the tailings area was about 8 MW and had to be increased to 20 MW, including the installation of a new 30 MVA transformer. Operators were already observing excessive voltage drops, especially when large 4.16 kV, 1,250 hp motors started. A complete review of the electrical system was required. Electro Integra used ETAP to create a detailed digital twin with around 1,000 electrical nodes, covering the whole path from 138 kV transmission down to 13.8 kV distribution and finally the 4.16 kV and 480 V loads.

Southern Copper Corp, a subsidiary of Americas Mining Corp, is a mining company. Its major products include copper, zinc, molybdenum, and silver. SCC operates mining, smelting, and refining facilities in Peru and Mexico and conducts exploration activities in Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador. Southern Peruvian operations include the Cuajone and Toquepala.
Electro Integra SAC (EISAC) provides consulting, design, development, and related services to the mining, hydrocarbon, and industrial electricity sectors. Since 2000, Electro Integra has partnered with OTI to bring ETAP software solutions to the Peruvian market. Electro Integra services all ETAP customers in Peru by providing local technical support and training.

Location: Toquepala, Tacna, Peru.

Year: 2022

Providing electrical system study for expanded cooper mine

Challenges

  • Expanding power from 8 MW to 20 MW while keeping the tailings dam process running continuously
  • Excessive voltage drop on long feeders, worsened during large-motor starting
  • Low power factor in several parts of the network, sometimes below 70%
  • Need to validate the capacity of existing equipment against current and future short-circuit levels
  • Ensuring motors would start and reach synchronism in what can be a relatively weak system
  • Updating protection settings and verifying proper coordination across the entire network

Which solutions did they choose?

Selected applications

Electro Integra relied on several ETAP modules and tools:

Digital Twin Modeling

  • Full network model (~1,000 nodes) including lines, transformers, motors, voltage regulators and loads
  • Two automatic voltage regulators modeled at key substations

Load Flow Analysis

  • Identification of voltage drops exceeding −5%
  • Evaluation of power factor and recommendations such as transformer tap changes and compensation

Short Circuit Analysis

  • Three-phase, single line-to-ground, line-to-line and line-to-line-ground faults analyzed
  • Studies performed for present grid short-circuit MVA and with a 20–30% higher value to anticipate future national-grid expansion

Motor Starting Analysis

  • Verification that large 1,250 hp pumps would successfully start and reach synchronism; results matched field measurements very closely

Protection & Coordination (ETAP Star)

  • Development of about 500 time-current curves from 138 kV down to 480 V
  • Complete relay setting definition for the entire system
  • Use of Star Auto-Evaluation to check settings against industry standards
  • Use of the Sequence of Operation tool to verify correct operation for specific fault scenarios

Model Validation

  • Digital twin validated against existing SCADA measurements plus additional field measurements

Why do they use ETAP?

Main customer benefits

  • Reliable system expansion from 8 MW to 20 MW with validated equipment ratings and protection
  • Reduced voltage drop and improved power factor based on ETAP-driven recommendations
  • Confidence that large motors will start reliably, supported by analysis that matches field behavior
  • A fully coordinated protection scheme, verified by Star Auto-Evaluation and Sequence of Operation
  • Hundreds of engineering man-hours saved thanks to ETAP’s integrated modeling and study environment
  • A reusable digital twin that the mine can continue to use for future studies and system changes

What do they think about ETAP?

Customer perspective

Using ETAP we built a detailed digital twin of the entire system, validated it against field measurements, and then executed all required studies - load flow, short circuit, motor starting, and coordination. This would have been extremely time-consuming without ETAP.

By Gilberto Luy, Technical Manager, Electro Integra SAC



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