Power Generating From Defunct Gold Mines:
An Australian renewable-energy company Green Gravity has proposed a scheme to generate electricity from the defunct Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), in Karnataka, using Low-Tech Gravity Technology.
- The plan is to find defunct mines, which often go hundreds or thousands of meters deep, and haul a Weighted Block, that may be around 40 tonnes, up to the top of the mine shaft using renewable power during the day.
- When backup power is required, the heavy block will fall, under gravity, and the ensuing momentum will power a generator via a connected shaft (or rotor).
- The depth to which the block can slip can be determined via a braking system, thus giving control on the amount of power that can be produced.
- This is similar to the pumped hydropower storage method, where water is pumped uphill electrically into a reservoir, and then released downhill to move a turbine and generate electricity as needed, as in a hydroelectric power plant.
- Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) is a mining region located in the Kolar district of Karnataka.
- It is known for its historic gold mines, which were among the deepest in the world.
- Mining in KGF was started by Jhon Taylor & Sons in 1880.
- The mines remained active for 121 years before it experienced an unsystematic closure on February 28, 2001. The mines were closed owing to high operational costs and low revenues.
