When a major gold mine in Papua New Guinea needed new equipment, Lincom Group was an obvious choice.
There’s nothing quite like a repeat customer in the business world, and that holds especially true when it comes to mining.
Equipment supplier and after-sales support aficionado Lincom is no stranger to repeat customers. With the company’s reputation for great results and reliability, customers keep coming back for more.
Such was the case when a major gold miner in Papua New Guinea (PNG) contacted Lincom to purchase more equipment for a different location.
“The major miner had previously used the equipment elsewhere with great results and reliability,” Lincom area sales manager Erwin Koch told PNG Mining. “Our reputation in PNG also helped us secure the deal.”
In no time at all, a Powerscreen Premiertrak 330 jaw crusher, a 1000 Maxtrak cone crusher and a Chieftain 1700 screen three deck had been delivered to the customer – and the mine has been reaping the rewards since.
“The Powerscreen Premiertrak, Maxtrak and Chieftain are all high-performance machines,” Koch said.
“The Premiertrak in particular has aggressive crushing action with its high-swing jaw, encouraging material entry into the crushing chamber.”
The mine will be using the equipment to make products like road base and blast stemming, both of which consist of crushed rock.
The road base and stemming will be used in the mine itself, creating more employment for local workers and a revenue stream for operators.
“The mines in PNG can be very remote, and those working there need people they can trust to give them help and support,” Koch said.
“Whether that’s getting spare parts for their machines or helping to choose the machinery that works for their site, a strong support system is invaluable.”
And it was with Lincom’s support that the gold miner chose the three pieces of equipment that now do so much for the site.
“The Powerscreen Maxtrak in particular has been a key piece of equipment for the mine,” Koch said. “At the heart of it is the Automax cone crusher, providing excellent capacity and high reduction.
“With cone overload protection, a heavy-duty chassis and track frame and an economical operation, it was the perfect choice.”
And when it comes to the Powerscreen Chieftain?
“It’s the perfect piece of equipment for mines requiring a large volume of high-specification product,” Koch said.
“Quick set-up times and maximum mobility means the operator can have the unit operational in minutes, and the hydraulic auxiliary conveyer can easily feed the oversize ore into another unit for further crushing or screening.”
Given even the strongest pieces of equipment need servicing from time to time, Lincom has that covered, too. In the case of the major gold miner, Lincom worked with the company to establish a recommended spare parts list to keep on-hand in case it was ever needed.
“It can be tricky to get parts to PNG in a short timeframe,” Koch said. “But a mine doesn’t have the luxury of waiting; if a machine stops, so can production.
“To combat this, the gold miner in PNG invested heavily in spare parts so they wouldn’t have to face that problem.
“Of course, if something goes wrong, we can get parts airfreighted over from our head office in Brisbane. But we try to encourage our PNG customers to keep as much stock on hand as possible to minimise their downtime.”
But Lincom’s expertise doesn’t stop at supplying the equipment and its parts. The company is especially proud of its after-sales support.
“Our key objective is customer service and support,” Koch said.
“Selling the machines might be the first step, but our job isn’t complete until we know our customer has been supported right throughout the life of the equipment.”
This article was published in the June issue of the PNG Mining magazine.