Impact of administrative measures on electrical energy costs in copper production

Abstract

The Mining and Smelting Complex Bor (RTB) is one of the biggest electrical energy consumers in Serbia, with costs that exceed 3 million USD per month, or between 30 and 40 million USD per year. A complex technological process of copper production comprises mining, concentrate production (flotation), smelting and electrolytic refining. In all these stages a large amount of energy is consumed. The electricity is supplied from the power plants using 5 substations: two of them located in Bor, and the remaining three in Majdanpek. The conditions for delivery and billing of the electrical energy were defined by the contract with the supplier. The methods of billing (calculation) the electrical energy costs were changed several times in the previous 25 years. Although the consumed energy is the largest part of the overall costs, there were also some indirect costs affecting the final monthly price. It is clear that even a minor percentage decrease of costs can lead to substantial savings in the total amount. Hence, different technological and organizational activities were undertaken to reduce these costs. The paper presents primarily the effects of administrative measures on the amount of total electrical energy costs in copper production.