Power generation provider Aggreko has completed the supply of 20 MW of power for the Las Bambas mine, in Peru, and is now responsible for commissioning, storing and filtering the fuel supply, which allows for 24-hour continuous operations at the mine.

Commissioned by midtier global resources company MMG to provide the power for the Las Bambas mine, which is located 4 000 m above sea level in the Peruvian region of Apurimac and mines copper, gold, silver and molybdenum, the first stage of power was delivered by the end of 2014.

This included 8.4 MW to run several electric shovels for mineral extraction, while the second stage of delivery that has just been completed includes 11.6 MW of power for overall site operations.

“Aggreko’s power solutions are specifically designed to support aspects of mining operations. This electric shovel application is just one example of our flexible solutions,” says Aggreko America power projects division MD Ana Amicarella.

Owing to the company’s expertise, she adds, the collaboration with MMG on the project is important, as a result of MMG’s significant investments and successful projects that have led to improvements for the Peruvian economy.

Moreover, Aggreko’s involvement provides modular and flexible solutions where power can be quickly and seamlessly increased or decreased according to site needs.

Amicarella notes that this allows the customer to concentrate on other mining-related applications without having to worry about the supply of power.

“The customer selected Aggreko because of our proven fast-tracked installation capabilities of multimegawatt projects. Also, we have the ability to offer temporary, flexible and reliable power solutions to the mining industry,” she says.

For the completion of this project, Aggreko was required to provide power solutions at different phases within challenging timeframes that would help the customer avoid any consequential penalties.

Following the completion of the entire project, Aggreko will oversee all the decommissioning needs of the project.