Nord Gold and Vostochnaya Technica (VT), a Cat dealer in Russia, have signed a strategic agreement providing the framework for a long-term partnership between the two companies.
The agreement aims to improve the efficiency and sustainability of all of Nordgold’s Russian operations by ensuring the highest levels of availability, productivity and cost effectiveness of its core mining equipment, the gold miner said.
As part of the agreement, VT will provide mining equipment maintenance and spare parts supply, while improving the efficiency of Nordgold’s Cat fleet, which totals 40 units, through new staff training programs and other initiatives.
The agreement includes the continuation of regular site assessments (which will cover fleet availability and maintenance, for example) as well as on-going measurement of dealer performance. The most recent assessment (August 2019), undertaken at the Gross, Taborny and Irokinda mines, showed the strong operational alignment between VT and Nordgold.
Nikolai Zelenski, Chief Executive Officer of Nordgold, said: “This wide-ranging agreement, which covers both technical support, parts supply and training, strengthens an already strong relationship with a major supplier, and will have a long-term positive impact on our Russian operations.
“The agreement challenges our partner with regular assessments to provide best practice levels of support to ensure the sustainable performance of the mining fleet to meet our production plans.”
Gerhard Vorster, General Director of Vostochnaya Technica, said: “World-class best practices of equipment management for maximum return on investment is a goal we share with Nordgold. Vostochnaya Technica will assign the best experts to Nordgold assets and provide maximum support to reach our common goal.”
Some 40 Cat units are currently in operation at Gross, Taborny and Irokinda, including 14 134t 785D haul trucks and 993K wheel loaders. Two more trucks are to be commissioned by the end of 2019, with five more Cat 785Ds to be supplied in 2020.
A VT Project Manager and service technicians are permanently present on site to maximise fleet uptime, according to Nordgold.