Sandvik will be the “major” provider of underground mobile mining equipment and aftermarket parts for Glencore Queensland Metals following the signing of an agreement between the companies that will extend for six years.

The A$249 million deal, which Sandvik said was signed on June 30, includes drills, trucks and loaders for Glencore’s metalliferous mines in Queensland and New South Wales, as well as parts, service, rock tools, and digital and automation technology for the fleet.

Glencore has already placed an initial A$47 million equipment order in the second quarter; a Sandvik DD421 development drill became the first piece of equipment supplied under the deal on 1 September.

The agreement, which was confirmed 27 October, comes after more than a year of negotiations between the two companies. Glencore issued a heavy mining equipment (HME) tender in 2018 and requested an additional response in early 2019 in which it asked the company to “deliver a more innovative and collaborative solution” for the miner.

Glencore Queensland Metals general manager for mining Simon Pope said the deal is a landmark one, as all heavy mobile mining equipment at Glencore Queensland Metals sites are being supplied by the one original equipment manufacturer (OEM) – after previously using multiple suppliers.

“This innovative partnership with Sandvik will help us improve the way we operate and maintain mobile equipment in our underground mines by providing us with a real reduction in the total cost to operate our primary fleet, an important factor in enabling a sustainable future for our mining operations,” Pope noted.

Source: www.rocktechnology.sandvik