Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions will deliver a 32-unit fleet of loaders, autonomous trucks and underground drills to Almina Minas do Alentejo SA through an order from Portuguese distributor Cimertex. The order includes 20 Toro™ TH663i trucks, five Toro™ LH621i loaders, four Sandvik DS411 rock bolters and three Sandvik DL421 longhole production drills. Deliveries will begin during Q3 2024 and continue through 2025.
The equipment order will help Almina double its current production capacity in Portugal’s Iberian pyrite belt to 6 Mt/y. The agreement follows a 2023 order from Cimertex for 18 Toro™ TH663i trucks, all of which have been delivered.
“Almina will soon operate one of the largest Sandvik fleets in all of Europe,” said Álvaro Bastos, Executive Director at Cimertex. “Almina is seeking higher productivity and lower costs, and Sandvik’s autonomous loaders and longhole drills have already proven to deliver higher utilisation operating during shift change.”
Twelve of the 20 Toro™ TH663i trucks in the latest order will be equipped with AutoMine® Fleet, a highly advanced automation system for a fleet of Sandvik underground loaders and trucks sharing the same production area. The scalable system offers automatic control of traffic management, allowing operators to monitor the process remotely and simultaneously control and monitor multiple operations from a remote control room.
Established in 1964, Cimertex is the exclusive representative in Portugal of several leading equipment brands. In addition to decades of equipment provision, Cimertex has a specialised aftersales service team capable of supporting equipment throughout the Portuguese territory. The Sandvik order includes a seven-year full aftermarket service contract for Almina.
“This cooperation represents a strong mutual trust among Almina, Cimertex and Sandvik, and strengthens more than 20 years of collaboration with our strategic partner and Portuguese distributor Cimertex,” said Enrique Mota, Territory Manager for Iberia at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions.
