At the 5th Mining and Minerals Hall (MMH) event taking place this week in Seville, Spain, Sandvik Mining & Rock Solutions has delivered significant equipment to key regional customers, with IM Editorial Director Paul Moore in attendance.
The scale of this year’s MMH, spanning all three Fibes exhibition halls and featuring numerous machines en route to customers, reflects the ongoing growth in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, which stretches across Spain and Portugal. This growth is evident at existing mining operations and through several major greenfield projects in development.
Inside Pavilion 2 of the impressive Fibes event center, Sandvik showcased its DD422i smart face drilling rig, set for Sandfire MATSA, which operates three underground copper-zinc-lead mines in Huelva province: Aguas Teñidas, Magdalena, and Sotiel. The new rig will be deployed at Aguas Teñidas.
The handover event featured Rob Scargill, CEO of Sandfire MATSA, along with Manuel Picón, Maintenance Manager, and Victor Manuel González, Mine Manager. Sandvik Ibérica representatives included Enrique Mota, General Manager, and Rafael Cabrera, Commercial Manager of the South Zone. Sandvik expressed gratitude for the continued trust placed in them by the customer, highlighting that the DD422i offers a 60 m² coverage area and one of the widest ranges of automatic drilling functions in its class, reducing over-breaking while maximizing pull-out per blast.
In the outdoor area at the entrance to the Fibes venue, Sandvik displayed three additional machines during the event: a Pantera DP1100i hydraulic, diesel-powered, self-propelled top hammer drill rig, along with two underground machines—a large 21-tonne Sandvik LH621i LHD loader positioned above a 63-tonne Sandvik Toro TH663i mining truck.
The Pantera DP1100i and LH621i loader were officially handed over to INSERSA, a major mining contractor and services company, on the afternoon of the second day of the event, October 16. The ceremony was attended by Francisco de Aspe, President of INSERSA, Javier de Aspe, CEO, Rafael Moreno, Financial Director, and Manuel Martín, Director of Mining. The LHD represents the 48th delivery to INSERSA, while the Pantera marks the 15th, demonstrating a strong partnership between Sandvik and INSERSA over the years.
Lastly, the Sandvik Toro TH663i mining truck is part of an order placed through Sandvik’s Portuguese distributor, Cimertex, for deployment at ALMINA’s Alentejo zinc-lead-copper mine in Aljustrel, Portugal. This truck is included in a significant order announced in July, which encompasses 20 Toro™ TH663i trucks, five Toro™ LH621i loaders, four Sandvik DS411 rock bolters, and three Sandvik DL421 longhole production drills.
