The company has highlighted work at its Kalgoorlie customer service centre in Western Australia, where a seven-year-old Sandvik DD420 development drill has recently been brought back to as-new condition, with all the latest technology upgrades.

The unit has been re-purposed and re-specced from its previous use in a WA nickel mine to its second life in a Queensland silver mine.

The scope of works for the DD420 rebuild involved stripping down the rig to its base chassis and components, replacing specified items, and repairing or replacing other parts and components as necessary to ensure everything was back to OEM-compliant condition.

Sandvik Mining’s Australia region vice president Jim Tolley said the company’s work in this area was an example of how the broader industry was driving for more value from suppliers and equipment.

“Just a few years ago, a drill rig of this age would probably have been retired and replaced with a new one,” he said.

“Now, with miners looking to better sweat their assets and get more out of them as part of an industrywide drive to reduce costs, options such as rebuilding older machines to as-new OEM-spec condition are becoming increasingly popular.”

In the case of the DD420, this 11-week process included the incorporation of a new powertrain, new wheels and a complete rewire, as well as a range of testwork and repairs.

Sandvik’s workshop supervisor at the Kalgoorlie facility, Nathan Bradshaw, said all service, parts, safety bulletins and upgrades are completed after the rebuild, so the finished product is as up-to-date as possible, despite being several years old.

“Throughout the process, we liaised closely with the customer, and the response back from them is that they are delighted with the quality of the rebuild, and the performance and productivity of the rig,” Bradshaw said.

“An important element of the success of a project like this is that the durability and quality is built into these Sandvik underground rigs from the beginning, so that we have solid, strong carrier and drilling module to work with, and which have the strength to continue reliably performing for a further seven years.”

Tolley confirmed that quality and durability in the original unit was necessary to justify a rebuild investment.

“We are investing heavily in our ability to provide these high levels of machine refurbishment and rebuilding, through our Australia-wide network of customer service centres and our new-concept productivity centres,” he said.

“Projects such as this one at our Kalgoorlie CSC are examples of how we can work with our mining customers to reduce their capital equipment costs, while maintaining or improving their required levels of productivity.”

Earlier this month, Sandvik said it was upgrading its Mackay service facility in Queensland to a productivity centre, making it one of only four in Australia.

Once the upgrade is complete the centre will be able to carry out major machinery rebuilds and repairs to full original as-new condition.

It will join the recently opened Orange productivity centre in New South Wales’ Central West as well as the productivity centres in the NSW Hunter region and Perth.