Australian technology may help generate power from defunct gold mines in KGF

• Green Gravity is an Australian renewable energy company that has developed a unique scheme to generate electricity.
• The company’s plan involves using defunct mines, such as the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) in Karnataka, India, to produce reliable and cost-effective renewable energy.

Gravity-Operated Weighted Blocks

• It uses a weighted block of up to 40 tonnes up to the top of a mine shaft using renewable power during the day when it is available.
• When backup power is required, the heavy block will fall under gravity, powering a generator via a connected shaft or rotor.
• The depth to which the block falls can be determined via a braking system, giving control over the amount of power produced.

Advantages of Weighted Blocks over Water

• Using weighted blocks instead of water means that decommissioned mines can be put to use, and the environmental costs and challenges of moving water up can be avoided.
• This approach can also mean less reliance on coal-produced power and access to reliable power.

Potential Use in KGF

• The Kolar Gold Fields in Karnataka, India, is an iconic but defunct gold mine that has the potential to be used for renewable energy production.
• The weighted block apparatus could produce up to thousands of megawatt-hours of power from the mine’s deep shafts, some of which run nearly 3,000 metres.

Prelims Take Away

• Gravity-Operated Weighted Blocks
• KGF Mines
• Location Based Question