At the 5th Mining and Minerals Hall (MMH) event being held in Seville, Spain, this week and being attended by IM Editorial Director Paul Moore, Sandvik Mining & Rock Solutions has handed over some major equipment units to key customers in the region.
The size of the MMH this year, with the exhibition covering all three Fibes halls, and the presence of numerous machines enroute to customers, are indicative of the growth being seen in the Iberian Pyrite Belt which straddles Spain and Portugal – both at existing mines and through major greenfield projects in the pipeline.
First off, inside Pavilion 2 of the impressive Fibes event centre, Sandvik has been showcasing its twin boom DD422i smart face drilling rig, which is destined for mining customer Sandfire MATSA, which operates three underground copper-zinc-lead mines in Spain’s Huelva province – Aguas Teñidas, Magdalena and Sotiel. The new rig is being deployed to Aguas Teñidas.
The Sandvik DD422i drill handover to Sandfire MATSA
The presentation was made to Rob Scargill, CEO of Sandfire MATSA; along with Manuel Picón, Maintenance Manager; and Victor Manuel González, Mine Manager. Sandvik Ibérica was represented by Enrique Mota, General Manager and Rafael Cabrera, Commercial Manager of the South Zone.
Sandvik states: “We hope you enjoy your new smart drilling rig, and as always, thank you very much for trusting us once again.” The DD422i offers a 60 m2 coverage and according to Sandvik has one of the widest ranges of automatic drilling functions available in its class, allowing it to achieve reduced over-breaking with maximised pull-out per blast.
Moving to the outside area in front of the Fibes entrance to the MMH event, Sandvik has three machines on display during the event – a Pantera DP1100i hydraulic, diesel-powered, self-propelled top hammer drill rig; plus two underground machines – a large 21 t class Sandvik LH621i LHD in a loading position above a 63 t payload Sandvik Toro TH663i mining truck.
The Pantera DP1100i and LH621i loader were earmarked for Sandvik’s customer, the major mining contractor and mining services company INSERSA, and were officially handed over on the afternoon of the second day of the event on October 16. The ceremony took place in the presence of Francisco de Aspe, President of INSERSA, together with Javier de Aspe, CEO; Rafael Moreno, Financial Director; and Manuel Martín, Director of Mining.
The LHD is the 48th delivered to INSERSA, and the Pantera the 15th, indicating the level of trust and cooperation between Sandvik and INSERSA in the region over many years.
Finally, the Sandvik Toro TH663i mining truck is heading to Sandvik’s Portuguese distributor Cimertex for deployment to ALMINA’s Alentejo zinc-lead-copper mine in Aljustrel, Portugal. It is part of a major order announced in July this year for ALMINA through Cimertex which includes 20 Toro™ TH663i trucks, five Toro™ LH621i loaders, four Sandvik DS411 rock bolters and three Sandvik DL421 longhole production drills.