The president of the Mining Council, Joaquin Villarino, acknowledged that Chile is going through a complex period, in regards to the energy supply in the country. This was stated prior to Villarino´s participation in the 2nd International Seminar on the Energy Management in the Mining Industry, Enermin 2012, held in Salvador de Bahía, Brazil.
The seminar, organised by Gecamin, The University of Queensland Australia and the Mining Chamber of Brazil, will take place from September 10th to 12th and will include the participation of the most important representatives from the industry, including research institutes and government agencies from around the world all of whom share the common pursuit of finding sustainable and efficient solutions regarding the management of energy.
Regarding the status of energy and mining in Chile, Villarino noted how there is a basic statement which says “there is no mining without energy and without competitive energy there will be no competitive mining.” As indicated, this means that “ongoing operations are in progress, but if we do not have competitive energy, new investments or current expansions are likely to be affected in their execution.”
Chile is going through a complex period. The cost of energy is almost double that of its neighbouring countries which makes for a non- competitive energy sector.” Also, Villarino stated that the mining industry is an intensive consumer of energy and this will only increase with the energy required for the desalination of seawater and pumping it to mine sites normally located remotely and at higher altitudes. Therefore, developments in the energy grid and the incorporation of new sources of generation are vitally important to the Chilean mining sector.
In regards to how to deal with this reality, the union president said that “we must try to move towards competitive bidding”. “Auto-generating energy is not a strategy that the mining industry has adopted; however incorporating certain incentives, secure contracts, etc. is becoming a form of action for the issue of energy in mining,” as well as the incorporation of non-conventional renewable sources of energy to the extent that they can efficiently meet supply and demand.
As a representative from the mining industry, Joaquín Villarino stresses that the 2012 Enermin Seminar will be an important contribution to the sector as it will allow for the exchange of experiences and the evaluation the possibilities and ways to search for energy integration in Latin America.
