FLEET AUTOMATION
A BELAZ 7513R truck with AHS applied by Zyfra
Mining, operating in SUEK’s Khakassia coal
mine in Russia
(PV or DML) drill or any other drill even if the OEM
itself doesn’t provide such function. We have
already achieved success at this site in all four
production processes of drilling, namely
movement, guidance, extension of the rig and
drilling. We see autonomous drilling as being
much easier in practical terms than autonomous
hauling, due to the simpler organisation of safety
work.” For autonomous drills even integration
with a dispatch system is not necessary, any drill
planning system is sufficient such as Surpac or
Micromine.
Talking about important factors to consider in
the implementation of
AHS, Klebanov says:
“Autonomous haulage is
a complex process of
integration autonomous
trucks into the current IT
landscape and
processes. Shift tasks
and all monitoring
processes should be
managed in the FMS.
Autonomous system
should be integrated
with traffic lights,
barriers and other equipment that works in the
same area. There are complex technological
challenges, primarily related to the change in the
usual processes of mine planning and
management. In comparison to standard
processes, new roles of users and employees of
the mining company also appear, such as the
operator of autonomous vehicles, dispatcher of
autonomous process, mechanics and maintenance
engineers who can maintain the autonomous fleet.”
Zyfra has also moved beyond just being an AHS
technology company, and has taken responsibility
for the reliability not only of the IT part but for the
dump trucks themselves, including all parts of the
technology processes involved in hauling.
“Therefore, we see that companies that develop
autonomous technologies for mining will also
become site operators and will provide key
production factors such as turnover, availability,
coefficient of use of capacity etc.”
The Arturo mine experience
In mid-2017, Barrick Gold in partnership with
Premier Gold Mines contracted Autonomous
Solutions Incorporated (ASI) to complete an
autonomous operation Proof-of Concept (POC) at
Nevada Gold Mines (NGM), Goldstrike – Arturo
Operation. The POC directed ASI to supply a
successful retrofit of five Komatsu 930E-2 haul
trucks for fully autonomous operation, and to
provide and implement their proprietary Mobius
control software. By June of 2018, the first truck
began testing. This project and the lessons learned
along the way were presented by J . Oxborrow from
the Nevada Gold Mines Open Pit Engineering team
at this year’s SME MineXchange Annual
Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, attended by IM.
Oxborrow’s paper says the safe implementation
of an Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) on 15+
year old haul trucks required a vast number of
changes to procedures, in both operations and
planning. Considerations to employee perception
and acceptance of the project were among the
most important items during the implementation
process. Operators were engaged from the onset
of the project to ensure project acceptance, and
that all concerns were addressed.
“An important design consideration of the