After operating for more than 60 years, Aggreko, a leading provider of mobile modular power, temperature control and energy solutions, is reflecting on its entrance to mining more than 30 years ago.
The company, founded in 1962, entered the mining industry in 1991 and, about a decade later, pioneered modular cooling in underground mining.
Aggreko Australia Pacific Managing Director, George Whyte, said the Netherlands-born company – now active in about 80 countries globally – has played an evolutionary role in mine power and temperature control.
“In 1991, Aggreko secured its first ever mining project, which was at the Benambra zinc and copper mine in Victoria, Australia,” Whyte said. “At the time we were the only company to put 1 MW of power technology into a modular container. Later, in 2001, we pioneered modular underground mine cooling in the rental market, also in Australia. Prior to that, mines would purchase fixed cooling and ventilation systems for their operations.
“Some other mines we supported early on included Mt Dimer, Youanmi, Century Zinc, Granites Gold Mine and the Olympic Dam expansion – which is Australia’s largest open-pit mine. Some of these mines are still around today.”
Whyte said energy services at mines had expanded since then.
“Where we once supported mines operationally with their short-term power and cooling needs, we organically developed into an engineering solutions provider, now active at more than 300 mines globally,” he said. “Over time, our solutions have also become more complex from providing airflow modelling for underground cooling and ventilation to providing fully hybridised micro-grids.
“Of the limited number of off-grid renewable power plants in the world, Aggreko owns and operates three of them, and this is something we are very proud of. Where it was once common for miners to own and operate their own power plants on-site and for us to supply bridging power, it is becoming more common for us to build, own and operate the power plant for a mine’s life.”
Whyte said digitalisation has been one of the biggest transformers of the mining industry, helping assist with emissions reduction and safety improvements.
“Digital technology provides the data needed to reduce unpaid down-time on mine sites for instance or discover how solar and batteries behave under cloud cover,” he said.
Aggreko Global Head of Mining, Rod Saffy, said Aggreko was a truly global power provider and its experience in a wide variety of industries, applications and locations were part of the company’s success.
“Aggreko is truly a global company, and consistency across our businesses practices has earned us a reputation for having the highest ethical, environmental, equipment and safety standards wherever we go in the world,” he said.
Aggreko has a team of more than 6,000 people who operate across 80 countries. It has a diverse team including engineers, data scientists, technicians, and power station operators – who demonstrate there aren’t any conditions too cold, hot, or tough to operate in, the company says.
A recent project included staff enduring extreme environments of the Andes-mountain ranges in Salares Norte, Chile, to establish a hybrid and solar power plant 4,500 m above sea level. Another project saw teams transport equipment via icy roads to provide 6.5 MW of power and heating to a silver mine (Silvertip) in British Columbia, Canada. It was there that within three months Aggreko installed and commissioned a virtual LNG fuel supplied power plant with a heat recovery system. The team also operates in hot climates like Africa and Australia where they establish power plants in the soaring heat or desert.
Saffy and Whyte believe mining is at the forefront of technology and innovation, and the progress being made in the industry paves the way for other global industries such as manufacturing, construction and major events.
“The mining industry has some of the most robust environmental and safety standards in the world and the innovations in the industry are truly exciting,” Saffy said.
Other technologies the company has either deployed or developing, include modular solar power; Organic Rankine Cycle technology (heat from generator exhausts converts into useable energy); renewable energy solutions (such as wind farms, solar and hydro power); mobile wind solutions and pumped, mechanical and flywheel energy storage; and fuels such as hydrogen and biofuels (which will become more prevalent in the next decade and can be switched into Aggreko’s modular power generators).
Aggreko has a net-zero emissions goal by 2050 and has a 2030 target to reduce diesel use in its customer solutions by 50%.
