Barminco Chooses Sandvik Fleet for Bellevue Gold Project 2026

The Hidden Productivity War Beneath Australia's Gold Mines

Underground mining has always been defined by a fundamental tension: the deeper and more complex the orebody, the greater the productivity challenge. High-grade deposits demand precision, speed, and reliability from every piece of equipment deployed underground. When those three qualities converge in a single fleet procurement decision, it tends to reveal something important about where the industry is heading.

Barminco selects Sandvik for Bellevue gold project in a decision that is not simply a purchasing announcement. It is a window into how Australia's most demanding underground gold operations are being built, equipped, and optimised in an era where digital intelligence, sustainability performance, and operational efficiency are increasingly inseparable.

Inside the Fleet: What Barminco Selected and Why It Matters

When Barminco finalised its equipment selection for the Bellevue gold project in Western Australia, the resulting order covered 23 units at a total value of approximately AUD $37.3 million (roughly SEK 350 million). The fleet will be supplied by Sandvik and commissioned progressively between Q3 2026 and Q1 2027, aligning with the August 2026 commencement of Barminco's four-year underground mining services contract at the site.

Full Fleet Composition

The fleet composition is notably development-heavy. With ten drilling units across two distinct functions alongside thirteen haulage and loading machines, the configuration points to a mine in aggressive expansion mode, simultaneously advancing lateral development headings while preparing stopes for production blasting.

At an average per-unit capital cost of approximately AUD $1.62 million, this is a premium intelligent equipment investment. For context, standard underground haul trucks and loaders at lower technology tiers typically come in at significantly lower per-unit values, meaning Barminco has consciously prioritised connectivity, analytics capability, and automation readiness over upfront cost minimisation.

Why the Toro Platform Was Chosen for Haulage and Loading

The Toro TH663i haul truck and Toro LH517i loader are both engineered for high-intensity underground applications where payload efficiency and machine uptime are the primary cost levers. Several characteristics make them well-suited to an operation of Bellevue's profile:

• Advanced onboard connectivity enables real-time telemetry transmission, allowing site managers and Sandvik's remote support teams to monitor machine health continuously
• Real-time analytics architecture captures cycle time data, payload metrics, and fuel consumption patterns, feeding directly into operational optimisation workflows
• Automation readiness means both platforms are pre-configured for future deployment in autonomous or semi-autonomous operating modes, future-proofing the fleet investment beyond its initial four-year contract horizon
• Superior maintainability design extends component service intervals and reduces unplanned downtime events, which are disproportionately costly in underground environments where equipment access is constrained

In high-grade underground gold mines, the cost-per-tonne metric is acutely sensitive to machine availability. A single haul truck or loader out of service for unplanned maintenance during a peak production window can cascade across an entire development sequence. Intelligent connectivity that enables predictive maintenance scheduling directly addresses this vulnerability, furthermore improving overall underground drilling safety across active working areas.

The Drilling Fleet: Where Productivity and Precision Intersect

The drilling component of the Bellevue fleet deserves particular attention because it illustrates a broader shift in underground mining philosophy. The two drill platforms selected serve fundamentally different functions within the mine cycle, yet both are oriented around the same core principle: reducing variability.

Sandvik DL432i: Production Drilling Precision

The DL432i is a longhole production drill designed for stope preparation, the process of creating the blast patterns that define how ore is broken and extracted. In high-grade gold mining, consistent drill hole geometry is not simply a productivity issue, it is a grade control issue. Poorly placed holes create irregular blast patterns, leading to:

• Uncontrolled overbreak, which dilutes ore grades with waste rock
• Inconsistent fragmentation, which increases crushing and processing costs
• Unpredictable muck profiles, which complicate loader cycle times

The DL432i's advanced digital drilling controls automate depth management and angle consistency, directly reducing the blast variability that drives grade dilution at the stope boundary. For a mine operating at Bellevue's grade profile, where every tonne of ore carries significant value, this precision has measurable financial consequences.

Sandvik DD422i: The Dual Controls Advantage

The DD422i development drill brings a capability that is less commonly discussed outside specialist mining circles: the dual controls package with split feed functionality. This is worth unpacking in detail because it represents a genuine productivity multiplier rather than a marketing feature.

In conventional underground development, a single heading typically requires multiple sequential equipment passes:

1. Drill rig completes the blast pattern for face advance
2. After blasting and ventilation clearance, a separate bolting rig installs roof support
3. A separate meshing process secures the newly exposed walls and back
4. The cycle repeats for the next advance

The DD422i's dual controls package with split feed capability collapses steps two and three into the same equipment deployment as step one. Two operators can work simultaneously from separate control stations, with split feed enabling concurrent boring, rock bolting, and mesh installation within a single machine cycle.

The operational implication is significant: reducing the number of separate equipment passes per heading advance directly compresses the development cycle time, increases the number of advance metres achievable per shift, and reduces the total exposure time for personnel working in active development headings.

In the context of an accelerated underground development programme, as Bellevue's ramp-up profile demands, this kind of cycle time compression across multiple simultaneous headings compounds into material throughput gains over a full year of operation.

Bellevue Gold: The Mine Behind the Equipment Order

Understanding why this fleet configuration matters requires understanding what kind of mine Bellevue Gold actually is. Located approximately 400 kilometres north-west of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, the Bellevue gold project is not a typical bulk tonnage operation.

Mine Profile at a Glance

Bellevue's distinction as a high-grade operation carries specific underground mining implications that directly influenced the equipment selection. High-grade underground gold mines typically exhibit narrower, more structurally complex orebodies than large-tonnage bulk mining operations. Consequently, this means:

• Development headings must track grade carefully, requiring precise geological control at the heading face
• Selective mining methods such as long-hole open stoping place a premium on drill hole accuracy
• Dilution management is critical, since even small volumes of waste rock mixed with high-grade ore can materially reduce recovered grade
• Infrastructure per ounce of gold produced is high, making equipment efficiency and uptime metrics more financially consequential

The mine entered commercial production in 2024 and has rapidly scaled toward its FY2026 production guidance range. This trajectory places Barminco's contract commencement in August 2026 precisely at the point where Bellevue is transitioning from ramp-up to steady-state operation, a phase that typically demands the highest rates of simultaneous lateral development and stope preparation. These are well-documented gold mining challenges that operators across Western Australia continue to navigate.

Net-Zero Underground: What Bellevue's Environmental Achievement Signals

In 2025, Bellevue became the world's first gold mine to achieve net-zero certification covering both Scope 1 direct emissions and Scope 2 purchased electricity emissions. This was not achieved through carbon offsetting alone. The mine commissioned four wind turbines and a utility-scale solar farm, collectively supplying approximately 90% of total site electricity demand through renewable generation, representing one of the most compelling renewable mining solutions to emerge from Australia in recent years.

This achievement carries implications that extend beyond environmental reporting. A mine drawing 90% of its electricity from renewables has fundamentally different cost exposure to energy price volatility than one dependent on diesel or grid power. Underground mining is extremely energy-intensive, with ventilation, hoisting, pumping, and equipment charging all drawing continuous power. Renewable energy supply at this scale:

• Reduces direct operating cost exposure to diesel fuel price movements
• Enables meaningful electrification pathways for underground mobile equipment as battery electric vehicle technology matures
• Positions the mine favourably against emerging carbon-related regulatory frameworks in Australia and internationally
• Provides a credible sustainability narrative for the increasing proportion of institutional investors applying environmental screening criteria

The convergence of world-first net-zero status with a digitally connected intelligent equipment fleet is not coincidental. It reflects a deliberate operational philosophy at Bellevue that treats sustainability and productivity as complementary rather than competing objectives.

The selection of Sandvik's intelligent equipment platform, rather than conventional mechanised equipment, fits logically within this framework. Connected equipment that generates real-time operational data enables more efficient energy management and reduces wasteful idle operation, adding an incremental but meaningful sustainability dimension to the fleet investment. Furthermore, this approach aligns with broader green mine design principles that are increasingly influencing how new operations are planned and built.

The Barminco-Sandvik Relationship: More Than a Transaction

Barminco, operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Perenti Group, is one of Australia's most active underground contract mining businesses with operations extending across Australia and internationally. Perenti confirmed that the Sandvik equipment order for Bellevue extends what both companies characterise as a longstanding and evolving partnership.

This framing matters for several reasons that go beyond public relations language:

• Fleet standardisation across a contractor's portfolio generates compounding operational advantages. When Barminco's operators are trained on a consistent Sandvik platform across multiple mine sites, cross-site deployment flexibility increases and training overhead decreases.
• Shared digital infrastructure allows performance benchmarking between sites within the same contractor's portfolio, enabling operational best practices to propagate from high-performing sites to those still on the learning curve.
• Integrated lifecycle support through the rock tools, parts, and services component of the deal means Sandvik has commercial incentive to ensure the fleet performs well across the full four-year contract period, not merely at commissioning.

The bundled nature of this agreement, covering capital equipment, consumables, parts, and services under a single supply arrangement, reflects a procurement philosophy increasingly favoured by sophisticated underground contractors. Total cost of ownership modelling, rather than capital purchase price comparison, has become the dominant decision framework for fleet procurement at this scale. In addition, AI mining efficiency tools are increasingly being integrated into these frameworks to further sharpen operational decision-making.

Deployment Timeline and Commissioning Logic

The staged delivery schedule spanning Q3 2026 through Q1 2027 is not simply a logistics convenience. It reflects considered commissioning sequencing:

1. Pre-delivery configuration of equipment to match Bellevue's specific underground geometry, ventilation capacity, and gradient profiles
2. Initial equipment arrival in Q3 2026 coincides with Barminco's contract commencement, enabling immediate operational deployment of priority haulage and loading units
3. Progressive drill rig delivery allows heading development capacity to scale in step with newly available working faces
4. Operator training and system integration occurs on a rolling basis rather than as a single pre-production training block, reducing the productivity impact of familiarisation periods
5. Full fleet operational integration by Q1 2027 positions Barminco for optimised throughput across all active mining areas by the second quarter of calendar 2027
6. Ongoing lifecycle support activation through the services agreement ensures performance data from commissioning informs maintenance scheduling from day one

This phased approach is characteristic of well-managed large-scale underground mobilisations and reflects both Barminco's and Sandvik's accumulated experience with complex multi-machine fleet deployments at high-grade Australian gold operations.

What This Deal Signals for Underground Mining Investment

The following observations reflect industry trends and analysis. They do not constitute financial advice, and investors should conduct their own due diligence before making investment decisions.

Several broader industry trends converge in this single equipment procurement decision:

• Intelligent fleet standardisation is emerging as a genuine competitive differentiator for underground contract miners, not just a technology novelty. Contractors who operate connected, data-generating fleets can offer mine owners meaningful performance transparency that conventional equipment cannot provide.
• The integration of sustainability credentials into operational design is accelerating. Bellevue's net-zero achievement within its first year of commercial production sets a benchmark that other new underground gold operations will face increasing pressure to match.
• Lifecycle service bundling is reshaping equipment procurement economics. The shift from transactional capital sales to integrated supply partnerships changes how total cost of ownership is calculated and who bears operational performance risk.
• Dual-function equipment platforms like the DD422i with its dual controls package represent a category of productivity investment that is difficult to capture in simple per-unit cost comparisons, but highly material to real-world development cycle times.

For the broader Australian underground mining sector, the decision by Barminco to select Sandvik for Bellevue gold project operations signals continued confidence in intelligent equipment platforms as the foundation for competitive contract mining performance in increasingly complex, high-value underground environments.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the total value of the Sandvik fleet order for Bellevue?

The supply agreement is valued at approximately AUD $37.3 million (approximately SEK 350 million), covering 23 units of underground trucks, loaders, and drills alongside rock tools, parts, and ongoing services support.

When does Barminco's underground mining contract at Bellevue begin?

Barminco's four-year underground mining services contract commences in August 2026, with initial Sandvik equipment deliveries beginning in Q3 2026 and final deliveries scheduled for Q1 2027.

How did Bellevue Gold achieve net-zero status?

In 2025, Bellevue commissioned four wind turbines and a solar farm that together supply approximately 90% of the mine's electricity demand from renewable sources, enabling net-zero certification across both Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.

What is the dual controls package on the DD422i development drill?

The dual controls package equips the DD422i with two operator control stations and split feed functionality, enabling concurrent boring, rock bolting, and mesh installation within a single equipment deployment cycle, materially compressing development heading cycle times.

What is Barminco's corporate structure?

Barminco operates as a subsidiary of the Perenti Group, one of Australia's largest diversified mining services companies, with a significant presence in underground contract mining across Australia and internationally.

Why does high-grade underground gold mining require more precise drilling?

In high-grade narrow-vein or structurally controlled orebodies, inconsistent drill hole placement leads to overbreak and ore dilution with waste rock. Even small dilution rates at high gold grades translate to significant lost revenue per tonne processed, making drilling precision a direct financial performance variable rather than simply a technical specification.

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