Prime or continuous ratings
Standby nameplates are the wrong starting point for multi-hour daily running. Specify prime ratings with altitude and ambient derating written into the data sheet.
Cost of downtime
R85,000–R400,000+
indicative cost per hour of unplanned stoppage
What an hour without power really costs on a mine
A mid-size open-pit or quarry shift does not “pause politely” when the grid or site generation fails. Lost tonnes, idle diesel fleet, flooded workings and contractual penalties stack faster than the capital cost of correctly sized prime power.
Even a conservative R85,000/hour on a smaller quarry — labour, standing plant hire, missed dispatch and restart scrap — means a R350,000 industrial generator pays for itself in a handful of avoided outages. CFOs already insure mobile plant; site power belongs on the same ledger.
Mining and quarrying power solutions centre on prime-rated diesel generator sets, often in N+1, sized for crushers, mills, conveyors, ventilation and dewatering with real motor-start margins. AGP Generators supplies industrial AGP sets from roughly 100 kVA to 1000 kVA+ with heavy-duty cooling, bulk fuel integration and contractual service. Typical project capital for a single 500 kVA industrial frame starts near R845,000 excluding VAT before switchgear and civil works.
See recommended sizes for this sector: 150 kVA generators, 500 kVA generators, 1000 kVA generators and related case studies.
Then plan delivery, support and finance: our delivery process, warranty terms, finance and leasing and generator installation and compliance guide.
What this sector needs from generation
Specification themes we see repeatedly when mining & quarrying operations size diesel power correctly the first time.
Motor starting headroom
Direct-on-line crushers and pumps need calculated starting kVA, not just running kW. Soft starters or VFDs change the generator size — model them early.
Dust and heat packages
Heavy radiators, screened intakes and service access for daily filter blows keep sets alive in pit conditions.
Fuel quality control
Bulk tanks, water separation and polishing prevent injector failures that look like “bad engines” on remote sites.
Redundancy topology
N+1 or isolated critical boards for dewatering and refuge bays beat a single large set with no fallback.
Contractual response
Hour-meter service and breakdown SLAs matter more than brochure kVA when the pit is hours from a city workshop.
Recommended kVA bands
Starting points — final size follows a measured or listed load profile.
Typical loads in this sector
Primary crusher DOL startPeak starting kVA critical
Conveyor banksStaggered start recommended
Dewatering pumpsOften life-safety / continuous
Ventilation fansUnderground / enclosed plant
Lighting & campsSeparate essential board
Workshops & weldersDiversity with production
Comms & telemetryUPS + genset
Fuel bowser pumpsKeep fleet moving
Field note
Quarrying
Avoided a flooded pit after a 14-hour grid collapse
A Limpopo aggregate producer replaced an undersized standby canopy with a prime-rated industrial AGP set and automatic pump board. During a multi-hour utility failure the dewatering line held; management estimated more than R1.2 m in avoided silt clean-up and lost dispatch — several times the generator premium over the cheap set they nearly bought.
Related kVA guidanceCompliance and site requirements
Mining power installations must align with site MHSA practices, electrical COCs under SANS 10142-1 for applicable LV work, earthing and bonding suited to mobile plant environments, bunded fuel storage, and exhaust routing clear of intake airways. Paralleling gear and protection settings should be commissioned with recorded tests. Tender packs often need data sheets, parts lead-time letters and maintenance plans — AGP prepares procurement-ready files without claiming OEM distributorship for any engine brand inside the set.
Mining & Quarrying FAQs
If the set will run many hours per day or carry process load off-grid, specify prime or continuous ratings with derating. Standby-only nameplates assume utility power returns quickly.
Capture motor kW, start method (DOL, star-delta, soft start, VFD) and permitted voltage dip. AGP engineers size from that profile rather than a single “running kVA” guess.
Budget oil, filters, coolants and scheduled labour into R/hour alongside diesel. Contracted service with oil analysis usually costs less than unplanned injector or turbo failures on remote sites.
Yes. Paralleling improves redundancy and transport logistics. It needs compatible controllers, protection and commissioning — plan it in the RFQ, not after delivery.
Yes under project scope. Logistics, craneage, fuel first-fill and local artisan training are quoted explicitly so the CFO sees the full insured-uptime cost.