NT Gold Mine Switchroom: 2 x 40ft HV and MCC Containerised Substation

A Northern Territory gold mine needed a substation combining high-voltage switchgear and a motor control centre to feed a process area, energised on a date the rest of the works keyed off. Building a switchroom in the field at a remote site is slow and exposed, with construction, installation, and testing all in sequence. The electrical had to be built to AS/NZS 3000, the LV assemblies to IEC 61439 and the HV gear to IEC 62271, and the room rated IP54 and climate-controlled for the Top End. Above all, it had to be proven before it became the critical path.

SCS built the substation as two 40ft modules forming a containerised substation, integrating the HV switchroom and the motor control centre as one electrical system. The electrical was built to AS/NZS 3000 with the LV and MCC assemblies to IEC 61439 and the HV switchgear to IEC 62271, the enclosure sealed to IP54 and climate-controlled for the design temperatures. Protection coordination, earthing, and the control and SCADA interfaces were wired and proven together. Built to the QA in our manufacturing process, the switchroom passed a full factory acceptance test under power before dispatch.

Because the switchroom was built and proven in the factory while site civils ran alongside, it was positioned and energised weeks ahead of a comparable field-built room, and the energise date was met. The factory acceptance test meant site commissioning verified a known-good room rather than a first power-up, so there was no on-site fault-finding on the critical path. The IP54 enclosure and climate control kept the switchgear inside its ratings from day one, and the integration risk was retired on the factory floor.