The turbine will supply power for Phase II at Mineral Park, and has a design capacity of 35 MW against the overall requirements of the Phase II operation at 50,000 tons per day of 57MW.
Mineral Park currently purchases approximately 25MW from the grid.
The turbine is scheduled for delivery at the end of November 2010, and is expected to be fully operational by the end of the first quarter of 2011.
Mercator president and CEO Michael Surratt said that the purchase of the gas turbine is the optimal power solution to complete the Phase II expansion at Mineral Park allowing for the effective management of a significant cost component, including the opportunity to hedge power costs.
