African mining loads are unforgiving: mills, crushers, conveyors, underground ventilation and a camp that still needs power at 02:00. Weak radial lines, grid curtailment and long interconnection queues turn power into a production constraint. A container that looks cheap and then fails under cyclic load, altitude, dust or poor fuel costs far more than it saved.
Plan around your duty, not a product
Continuous baseload
Gas turbines or heavy reciprocating engines on firm gas or well-managed liquid fuel for primary production power.
Peak and swing
Modular blocks that follow mill starts and shovel fleets without oversizing the whole station.
Bridge power
Fast-install packages that carry the mine while permanent plant or grid reinforcement arrives.
Hybrid
Thermal, solar and storage combined where fuel savings matter, without giving up firm capacity at night.
Island and weak grid
Protection, black-start and load management engineered for real mine step loads.
Most African mines run at 50 Hz, and every station must be sized for the heat and altitude at the pit, not the brochure rating. USP&E is brand-agnostic and chooses equipment that can be serviced near your mine gate.
Fuel strategies mines actually live with
Pipeline gas, LNG or CNG where logistics allow, diesel, HFO and dual-fuel all appear on African mines. Each brings its own logistics: tank farms, heated HFO lines, gas laterals or trucking through the rainy season. Where regional gas becomes available, many mines plan a transition from HFO to gas. Screen gas turbines, diesel generators and HFO generators in USP&E inventory.
EPC that survives dust, distance and deadlines
Mining power EPC has to own civil, mechanical, electrical, fuel, controls and commissioning under one point of accountability, because every month of delay costs ore value. USP&E EPC brings in-house site management and fast-track methods built for remote sites.
After energisation, your mine needs local capability, not permanent fly-in dependency. USP&E O&M covers operations, planned maintenance, condition monitoring, spares and training for your workforce.
Proof from recent work
Mining · Tanzania
Perseus Mining, Nyanzaga Gold Project
USP&E supplied 28 Cummins KTA50 containerised gensets for the Nyanzaga Gold Project in Tanzania.
Mining · Mali
Barrick Gold, Loulo-Gounkoto
USP&E refurbished the 104 MW power station, rebuilding more than 80 MW of Caterpillar CM32 engines and adding new zero-hour capacity.
Mining · Mali
Resolute Mining, Syama
USP&E installed and operated a 30 MW Caterpillar power station for the Syama gold mine.
Mining · Mauritania
Kinross Gold, Mauritania
USP&E delivered a Caterpillar backup power station for Kinross Gold’s large-scale mining operation.
Grow in phases with FX-45
If your load will grow in phases, plan the later blocks now. FX-45 is USP&E’s new modular gas turbine, built for hyperscale and industrial growth: 45 MW in open cycle and 108 MW in a 2×1 combined-cycle block, configurable for 50 Hz or 60 Hz, with capacity slots from 2028.
Start on available equipment today, reserve the pad, interconnection and fuel capacity, and the FX-45 phase plugs in instead of starting over. See FX-45 at a glance.
Why owners choose USP&E
USP&E is a full-service engineering, EPC and O&M company, not a broker. One team designs, builds and runs your plant, so nothing falls between contracts.
Common questions
What size power station does a mine need?
It depends on your peak load, largest motor start, life-of-mine growth and outage cost. USP&E sizes the station to your real duty profile and site conditions, with N+1 redundancy where production depends on it.
Can USP&E supply power quickly while a permanent plant is built?
Yes. Bridge power from available inventory can carry the mine while the permanent station is engineered and built, and the same team plans the handover.
Is USP&E a broker?
No. USP&E is a full-service engineering, EPC and O&M company. The team that designs your station stays accountable for running it.
Facing a power challenge in Africa?
Tell us your load, fuel and timeline. An engineer will come back with options, not a sales pitch.