Sandvik Adds 19 Toro Machines to Kamoa-Kakula's Fleet

Sweden's Sandvik has received a new order from Kamoa Copper, the Ivanhoe Mines–Zijin Mining joint venture in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for 19 Toro-brand underground trucks and loaders destined for the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex.

Sandvik, the Swedish engineering group, has landed another underground equipment order from Kamoa Copper, the Democratic Republic of Congo copper producer jointly owned by Canada's Ivanhoe Mines and China's Zijin Mining. The order covers 19 Toro-brand trucks and loaders for the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, and it lands on top of what is already one of the largest single concentrations of Sandvik underground machinery anywhere in the world.

It is a repeat purchase, not a first date. Kamoa has been running Sandvik loaders and trucks since 2019, the period spanning the mine's construction, first production and the successive expansion phases that have made it one of the most closely watched copper developments on the African continent. As Mining Weekly reported, the order was described as significant by the supplier.

Why a fleet order is a production signal

Underground trucks and loaders — load-haul-dump machines, in the trade — are the circulatory system of a mechanised mine. Loaders muck ore from the face and feed trucks that haul it to a tip, shaft or conveyor. Fleet size is therefore a fairly direct constraint on how many tonnes a mine can move in a day. When an operator orders 19 new machines at once, it is either replacing worn units, opening new working areas, or both.

That matters at Kamoa-Kakula more than at most operations, because the complex has expanded in discrete stages rather than as one build. Each new mining area needs its own haulage capability from day one; equipment cannot be stretched across a longer decline indefinitely without the cycle times getting worse. A fleet addition of this size is consistent with a mine adding faces rather than simply retiring old iron.

The choice to keep buying from the same vendor after seven years is its own kind of information. Standardising a fleet on one brand concentrates risk with one supplier, but it also cuts spares inventory, simplifies technician training and makes maintenance data comparable across machines. Operators that have had a bad experience with a platform do not usually deepen their exposure to it.

What Sandvik gets out of the DRC

For Sandvik, the value of an order like this extends well past the invoice for the machines. Underground mobile equipment is a razor-and-blades business: the capital sale opens a decade or more of parts, rebuilds, component exchanges and service contracts, usually at better margins than the original iron. A large installed base at a single site is close to the ideal aftermarket customer, because the service infrastructure is already there and the incremental cost of supporting more units is low.

Central Africa has also become strategically important for the mining equipment majors in a way it was not a decade ago. The Congolese copperbelt is where a meaningful share of the world's incremental copper and cobalt supply is being built, and it is being built underground and mechanised rather than by artisanal or shallow open-pit methods. Suppliers that establish workshops, parts depots and trained local technicians in that corridor early tend to keep the follow-on work.

The copper backdrop behind the purchase order

Kamoa-Kakula sits at the intersection of two demand stories that have driven capital into copper: electrification of transport and the buildout of power infrastructure for data centres and grids. Copper is the metal that both require in bulk and for which substitution is hard. That has made high-grade, long-life underground copper mines unusually valuable assets, and has made their owners willing to spend on capacity ahead of demand rather than behind it.

The ownership structure is also worth noting for what it says about how these projects get financed and supplied. A Canadian-listed developer paired with a large Chinese producer brings together Western capital markets access and Chinese offtake, construction discipline and downstream smelting. Equipment procurement in that kind of joint venture is typically a negotiated, committee-driven process, which makes a 19-unit repeat order a reasonably strong endorsement rather than a casual reorder.

Where the equity market sat when the order landed

The order was disclosed on a session in which the broad U.S. market finished modestly higher. The S&P 500 tracker (NYSEARCA: SPY) closed at $765.91, up 0.32% from the prior close of $763.47, in a day range of $763.05 to $766.78. The Nasdaq 100 tracker (NASDAQ: QQQ) ended at $710.72, up 0.62%, and the Dow tracker (NYSEARCA: DIA) at $535.24, up 0.30%, all as of the last trade at 20:00 GMT on 25 August 2026. Those are index proxies, not a read on Sandvik, Ivanhoe or Zijin, none of which are quoted in the market data available here — but they establish that the news arrived into a market with no risk-off tone to it.

Equipment orders rarely move a supplier's shares on their own. They matter cumulatively, as a read on order intake, which is the metric analysts use to judge whether mining capital spending is accelerating or rolling over. A single fleet purchase is one data point; a run of them from expanding underground operations is a cycle.

What to watch from here

• Delivery timing. When the 19 machines are commissioned indicates whether they support a near-term production step-up or a later phase.
• Whether the fleet is diesel or battery-electric. Underground ventilation cost is the single biggest driver of electrification decisions, and the DRC copperbelt is a live test case for how fast that shift moves.
• Service footprint. Any expansion of on-site workshop or parts capability would signal Sandvik expects further orders from the complex.
• Subsequent Kamoa announcements. Equipment purchases usually precede formal capacity guidance rather than follow it.
• Order intake commentary from the equipment majors. Whether this is part of a broader pickup in underground fleet demand will show up in supplier reporting, not in individual press releases.

For now the concrete fact is a straightforward one: a mine that has run this supplier's machines since 2019 has chosen to add 19 more, and the vendor's largest underground fleet just got larger.

Key facts

• Order size: 19 Toro-brand underground trucks and loaders
• Buyer: Kamoa Copper, DRC — JV of Ivanhoe Mines (Canada) and Zijin Mining (China)
• Relationship since: Kamoa has operated Sandvik loaders and trucks since 2019
• Market backdrop: S&P 500 tracker SPY closed $765.91, +0.32%, as of 20:00 GMT 25 Aug 2026

Frequently asked questions

What exactly did Sandvik win?

Sandvik, the Swedish multinational engineering group, received a new order from Kamoa Copper in the Democratic Republic of Congo for 19 Toro-brand underground trucks and loaders. The machines are destined for the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, where Sandvik equipment has been in service since 2019 and already forms one of the largest underground fleets of its kind.

Who owns Kamoa Copper?

Kamoa Copper is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines of Canada and Zijin Mining of China. That pairing combines access to Western equity capital markets with Chinese offtake, construction capability and downstream processing — a common structure for large-scale copper development in the Congolese copperbelt.

What are Toro trucks and loaders used for?

They are underground mobile equipment. Loaders, often called load-haul-dump machines, scoop broken ore at the working face; trucks then haul it to a tip, shaft or conveyor for removal. Fleet size is a direct constraint on how many tonnes a mechanised underground mine can move per day.

Why does a repeat order matter more than a first order?

Because it reflects seven years of operating experience. Kamoa has run Sandvik loaders and trucks since 2019 and is choosing to deepen a single-brand fleet, which simplifies spare parts, training and maintenance data but concentrates supplier risk. Operators that were unhappy with a platform generally do not expand their exposure to it.

What does the order mean for Sandvik's revenue profile?

Beyond the machine sale itself, underground equipment generates years of aftermarket income through parts, component exchanges, rebuilds and service contracts, typically at higher margins than the original hardware. A large installed base concentrated at one site is an efficient aftermarket customer because service infrastructure is already in place.

How did markets behave on the day the order was reported?

U.S. benchmarks finished modestly higher on 25 August 2026. As of the last trade at 20:00 GMT, the S&P 500 tracker SPY closed at $765.91, up 0.32%; the Nasdaq 100 tracker QQQ at $710.72, up 0.62%; and the Dow tracker DIA at $535.24, up 0.30%. Those are index proxies, not reads on the companies involved.

Sources

• Sandvik has won another order from Kamoa Copper — Mining Weekly

Photo: Mark Stebnicki · Pexels Licence — source