Sandvik Toro Trucks And Loaders for Kamoa Copper
Mining equipment supplier Sandvik announced the order for mining equipment, including 19 underground trucks and loaders, on 26 August. The order is worth SEK 275m (US$28.85m). Deliveries are expected to begin in Q4 2026 and will continue into Q3 2027.
Kamoa Copper is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines and China-based Zijin Mining, while the DRC government holds a 20% minority stake. The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex is a long-life, high-grade underground mining operation located close to Kolwezi in Lualaba Province in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
āI am pleased to see that we once again have been selected to supply our leading solutions, supporting more productive, efficient and safer mining operations," says Patrick Murphy, President of business area Mining at Sandvik. Sandvik's intelligent machines have been operating at Kamoa-Kakula since 2019.
AutoMine
Through its AutoMine platform, Sandvik has spent more than 20 years refining the technology that powers autonomous underground mining operations.
AutoMine features a 3D perception system which is among the most advanced and productive in the industry, moving 15% more material than previous versions by reducing equipment downtime caused by underground hazards.
Its 3D mapping system enables it to spot and avoid hazards better than ever before, removing operational downtime to increase productivity. Sandvik says this has proven to move 15% more material during testing using underground loaders in live mine production cycles.
AutoMine is also designed to integrate with existing networks and access control systems, removing the need for any infrastructure upgrades before deployment. This means mining operations can adopt the system without pausing production. Sandvik confirmed plans to extend the AutoMine solution from underground loaders to further product lines in June.
Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex
The delivery of the trucks and loaders will support the expansion of mining activities at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, which is intended to increase copper concentrate production from 290,000 to 330,000 tonnes for 2026, as per the 2026 production guidance in July 2026, to 500,000 tonnes in 2028. As part of the increase in production capacity, two new box cuts at Kamoa-Kakula are under development.
The Kamoa-Kakula mine began commercial production in 2021:
- May 2021 ā Kamoa-Kakula begins producing copper concentrates
- July 2021 ā Kamoa-Kakula begins commercial production.
- June 2024 ā First concentrate production from the Phase 3 concentrator
- Q3 2024 ā Commercial production from the Phase 3 concentrator
- Late 2025 ā On-site direct-to-blister copper smelter starts operations
Key Partners
Ivanhoe Mines - Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company with three main mining operations in Southern Africa: the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Copper Belt in the DRC; the Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium mine in the DRC; and the Platreef platinum, palladium, nickel, rhodium, gold, and copper mine in South Africa. Ivanhoe owns a 49.5% share interest in Kamoa Holding, an Ivanhoe Zijin subsidiary that presently owns 80% of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mine.
Zijin Mining - Zijin Mining is China's largest gold mining company, and operates gold, copper and zinc mining assets in a number of countries. Zijin currently operates subsidiaries in 18 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, and Oceania. Zijin Mining ranks No.181 in the 2026 Forbes Global 2000 list, No.3 among metals miners, and No.1 among global gold companies; No.325 in the 2026 Fortune Global 500 list, and No.78 in the Fortune China 500 list.
