Aggreko, the supplier of temporary power and temperature control solutions for mining, believes that rapid growth in the Latin American mining sector over the past decade is helping to create a power supply deficit across the region, exacerbated by growing demand from other industries and consumers.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Latin America Down Under conference in Sydney on May 22-23, Andy Walker, Aggreko’s Head of Business Development, Mining,  said: “We have seen rapid growth in the mining industry in many Latin American countries over the past few years, matched by the demand for reliable temporary power. This has been particularly evident in Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia – even Chile, which has a long established industry and comparatively reliable power infrastructure.”

The company states that mining has always been a key focus industry for its solutions. Rental power enables mining companies to increase available power without the large capital outlay involved with buying power plants, together with the many costs associated with maintenance, staffing, spare parts and downtime. Aggreko supplies turnkey power plants that are fully installed, commissioned and maintained by highly trained and experienced engineers. The size of these installations can vary from the relatively small amount of power required for initial operations, such as camp power and early construction, to multi-megawatt, baseload power supply for a fully operational mine.