How Voltex conducted protection coordination for the Cobre Panama copper mine using ETAP

We took full advantage of everything from creating feeder templates to Auto-Build. ETAP made this vast digital model feasible. Running simultaneous studies across 79 networks saved us enormous time and allowed us to generate accurate reports as the design evolved.

By Raúl Barrera, Lead Engineer, Voltex Power Engineers

Cobre Panama is one of the largest greenfield mining projects ever developed: a new port, a coal-fired power station, a transmission line, a complete high-voltage distribution network, and a vast processing plant had to be engineered from scratch. With 465 protection relays, 90 power transformers, 179 switchboards and multiple voltage levels ranging from 34.5 kV to 4.16 kV, the scale and complexity of this installation required a modelling and coordination platform capable of handling thousands of interconnected elements.

Cobre Panamá is a major copper mining and processing operation that relies on extensive electrical infrastructure, including a 300鈥疢W power plant and high-voltage systems to support ore crushing, milling, and concentrator operations. Its scale and energy demands make it a significant case study in industrial power distribution and electrical engineering for large-scale mining projects.

Voltex Power Engineers is a division of Voltex Group are the trusted High Voltage Electrical Engineering Consultants, specialising in HV Power from Design to End-of-Life, serviing clients in South and Central America, and Australia and New Zealand. The company assists project and asset managers of large power systems to deliver secure outcomes that meet quality, timeframe and cost objectives. The Power Engineers division manages electrical risk and improve plant reliability through design, protection, commissioning, auditing, maintenance and asset management.

Location: Cobre Mine, Colon Province, Panama

Year: 2022

Providing protection coordination study for electrical installation of the cooper mine

Challenges

1. Building an accurate electrical model from incomplete documentation

Most design information was provided as PDF single-line drawings, requiring full reconstruction inside ETAP using Auto-Build and extensive use of feeder and substation templates.

2. Coordinating a multi-vendor, multi-software protection environment

The mine included ABB REF615/620 series, Schneider Sepam relays, Siemens Reyrolle relays, Siemens DIGSI5 Ethernet modules, and custom harmonic-filter protection. Each required distinct configuration workflows.

3. Managing extreme harmonic distortion and large converter loads

The process plant included 222 MW cycloconverters, producing near square-wave currents with heavy harmonic content, requiring special modelling and coordination with OEM-supplied filter systems.

4. Ensuring protection stability in a weak grid

The mine relied on its own power station. Starting SAG and ball mills risked significant undervoltage - requiring detailed ETAP transient analysis to develop safe ramp-up recommendations.

5. Handling massive amounts of relay settings data

Over 200 STAR reviews and hundreds of relay files needed to be summarised, formatted and produced in client-approved reports, including commissioning test routines.

Which solutions did they choose?

Selected applications

ETAP Digital Twin model

Complete multi-voltage network modelling
Auto-Build from PDF SLDs leveraging templates
Dynamic updates as vendors issued revised specifications

ETAP STAR™ for protection and coordination and selectivity analysis

Coordination across over 465 relays from ABB, Schneider, Siemens, and OEM interfaces
Large-scale TCC generation, comparison and verification
Automated relay settings tables and commissioning sheets

ETAP eSCADA for IEC 61850 system integration and data acquisition

GOOSE (Generic Object-Oriented Substation Event) messaging for interlocking and intertripping
Multi-IED communication verification using ETAP database structure

ETAP Power Simulator for short-circuit, harmonics and transient analysis

Evaluation of harmonic filter behaviour for 222 MW converters
Undervoltage mitigation during mill starts
Verification of model stability under dynamic operating conditions

Why do they use ETAP?

Main customer benefits

Efficient creation of one of the largest ETAP models they ever produced. Auto-Build and template-based modelling reduced weeks of manual reconstruction work.
Unified coordination across 465 relays. ETAP allowed engineers to manage settings from multiple vendors within a single database.
Accurate simulations for weak-grid conditions. Transient analysis helped define safe ramp-up procedures for heavy-motor starts.
Comprehensive IEC 61850 integration. GOOSE messaging and interlocking schemes were engineered, tested and validated inside ETAP.
Rapid multi-network studies. ETAP performed simultaneous power-flow and coordination studies across 79 composite networks, essential for a site with constant design updates.
Standardised, professional deliverables. Relay settings tables, TCCs and commissioning test sheets were automatically generated in client-ready format.

What do they think about ETAP?

Customer perspectives

Another thing that shone in ETAP for us was that we managed over 200 STAR reviews and summarized protection parameters, reducing the time needed to create relay settings files for various brands, each with its idiosyncrasies regarding how the settings go in.
By Raúl Barrera, Lead Engineer, Voltex Power Engineers

ETAP provided the foundation for creating and coordinating the entire protection system across 79 composite networks, enabling efficient model building, dynamic updates, relay coordination and IEC 61850 integration.

By Raúl Barrera, Lead Engineer, Voltex Power Engineers

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