Sandvik Mining is continuing to strengthen its presence in Papua New Guinea (PNG), reinforcing its long-term commitment to supporting the country’s growing mining industry through expanded facilities, increased operational capacity, enhanced logistics, and continued investment in people and local capability.
Sandvik has operated a local entity in PNG for more than five years, providing equipment, parts, technical support, and services to some of the country’s leading mining companies, including New Porgera Limited, K92 Mining Ltd, Lihir Gold Limited, Monier Limited, Morobe Consolidated Goldfields Ltd, Quest Exploration Drilling (PNG) Ltd, and Ok Tedi.
As the Sandvik fleet in PNG continues to grow, the company has expanded its facilities in Lae to improve service delivery, strengthen in-country support, and create a more stable and efficient operating base for employees and customers. Sandvik’s Customer Support Centre in Lae now plays an important role in supporting PNG customers through service coordination, major component repairs, and future equipment rebuild cycles, while also improving working conditions for the local team.
Sandvik has now delivered and supports more than 40 units of equipment in PNG, including underground trucks, loaders, underground drills, surface drills, and rotary drills. This growing installed base is supported through coordinated parts planning, local warehousing, component repair capability, and in-country resourcing, helping ensure responsive and reliable support for customers across the country.
“Papua New Guinea is an important market for Sandvik, and our continued investment reflects both the growth we are seeing in-country and our commitment to supporting customers with reliable, local service and technical capability,” said Andy Chirita, Head of Parts & Services, Sales Area Australia, New Zealand and PNG, Sandvik Mining.
The expanded Lae facilities and future plans improve Sandvik’s ability to support customers through enhanced parts availability, component repair capability, and future equipment rebuild cycles, while also providing improved long-term stability and working conditions for employees. The site also supports coordinated parts planning between Lae and Brisbane, local warehousing, and in-country resourcing.
Sandvik Mining in Papua New Guinea now employs 24 people across its Lae and Porgera operations. Alongside investing in its own workforce, Sandvik is also committed to helping upskill local Papua New Guinean talent more broadly through operator training, machine maintenance training, and the transfer of technical knowledge to build long-term capability in-country.
“Our investment is not only in Sandvik’s own people and facilities, but also in building capability in Papua New Guinea,” Chirita said. “By strengthening local support and helping develop skills in-country, we are building a stronger foundation for our customers, our employees, and the long-term growth of the mining industry in PNG.”
Sandvik is also supporting customers in Papua New Guinea with its Remote Monitoring Service (RMS), which uses intelligent technology to help predict and prevent equipment breakdowns before they occur. This improves reliability, reduces downtime, and supports more proactive maintenance planning.
Sandvik’s progress in Papua New Guinea includes securing long-term facilities in Lae, expanding workshop and warehouse capability, developing a national workforce, and strengthening the team supporting customers in-country. These investments reflect Sandvik’s long-term commitment to Papua New Guinea and its ambition to be a trusted partner to the mining industry.
For further information, please contact:
Kate Bills, General Manager – Sustainability, Marketing & Communications, Sandvik Mining Sales Area Australia & New Zealand
Email: kate.bills@sandvik.com
Sandvik Group
Sandvik is a global, high-tech engineering group providing solutions that enhance productivity, profitability, and sustainability for the manufacturing, mining, and infrastructure industries. The company is at the forefront of digitalisation and focuses on optimising customers’ processes. Its world-leading offering includes equipment, tools, services, and digital solutions for machining, mining, rock excavation, and rock processing. In 2024, the Group had approximately 41,000 employees and revenues of about SEK 123 billion across more than 150 countries.
Business area: Mining
Mining is a business area within the Sandvik Group and a leading global supplier of equipment, tools, parts, services, digital solutions, and sustainability-driven technologies for the mining and construction industries. Application areas include rock drilling, rock cutting, loading and hauling, tunnelling, ground support, and quarrying. In 2024, sales were approximately SEK 64 billion, with about 17,000 employees. For further information, visit mining.sandvik.
