Aveng Moolmans, one of Africa’s largest surface mining contractors, has awarded Sandvik the contract to provide five Sandvik D25KS drills to its fleet at Nkomati mine, South Africa,  bringing the total number of Sandvik drills on its various sites to 40. The agreement also includes a service contract, with Sandvik providing on-site training and spare parts.

The Sandvik D25KS is a diesel-powered, self-propelled crawler-mounted blasthole drill rig for mining and large-scale quarrying. Known for its compact size and powerful undercarriage, it is a stable and highly-maneuverable surface drill.The D25KS offers a high pressure air compressor for drilling with down-the-hole (DTH) hammers, a two-person cab for training and  operator efficiency, rugged design for durability in continuous drilling operations and an optional external loader that adds flexibility to the hole depth, hole diameter and drilling method.

Aveng Moolmans selected Sandvik as its equipment provider based on a 15-year relationship. Additionally, the ease of operation, minimal downtime and ability to transport rigs to other sites attracted Aveng Moolmans to the Sandvik products.

Dewald Hatting of Aveng Moolmans said: “We look forward to expanding our Nkomati fleet with Sandvik’s drills. We have trusted Sandvik to provide us with reliable equipment for years, and have successfully used its rigs on our mine sites across Africa.”

Sandvik has a wide reach across Africa. It provides drills to all of Aveng Moolmans’ African mines currently in operation, including the Sishen iron ore mine, Tshipi Borwa manganese mine, Klipbankfontein Kolomela iron ore mine, Smaldel coal mine, Sadiola gold mine, Siguiri gold mine, Iduapriem gold mine, Phoenix nickel mine and Langer Heinrich mine.

“We are really pleased to have this additional opportunity in South Africa, “ said Ken Stapylton, Vice President for Surface and Exploration Drilling, Sandvik Mining. “It’s a major market with significant mining activity. Our growth in the region depends on great partnerships with customers like Aveng Moolmans.”