HIGH PROFILE
China’s autonomous mining boom
In a world first, Paul
Moore spoke to the
senior management of
TAGE Idriver in Beijing,
the leading Chinese
player in mining truck
autonomy solutions,
both for new machines
and retrofits. CEO
Professor Yu Guizhen,
CTO Huang Liming and
Head of Marketing Li
Qingshe give their
insight on this huge and
rapidly growing market
Q: Can you give some background on TAGE Idriver
as a robotics solution company and how you
came to be active in the mining sector?
YG: Founded in 2016, Beijing TAGE Idriver
Technology Co Ltd (hereafter referred to as TAGE)
is a high-tech enterprise focussed on the research
and development of autonomous driving
technology for open-pit mining vehicles. Open pit
mining is regarded as one of the most ideal
applications for autonomous driving technology
implementation as it involves a relatively
restricted area where vehicle speed is low and the
transportation routes are well managed. As such,
we took the unmanned robotic mining truck as
our chosen breakthrough point, to try to help to
solve the long standing issues with open pit
mining haulage such as frequent accidents, driver
recruitment difficulty and persistently high cost.
And we have achieved a lot so far - our system
has already been successfully implemented in the
Bayan Obo iron ore and rare earths mine
(Baogang Group) and the Huolinhe coal mines
(SPIC) in Inner Mongolia.
Q: It seems only recently the major mining
equipment OEMs in China were working on their
own autonomy solutions, but now that
independent players are dominating...what has
changed?
YG: Unmanned transportation solutions for open
pit mines involve complex systems requiring not
only vehicle technology, but also autonomous
driving technology, dispatching and fleet
management technology, and vehicle
communication technology. To independently
build all those capabilities into one platform is a
tough challenge for the Chinese traditional mining
equipment OEMs. This is why independent
players with advanced autonomous driving
technology but working in close cooperation with
the OEMs are in a more competitive position to
deliver open pit mine unmanned transportation
solutions in China.
Q: The market for these independent autonomy
system tech providers seems very competitive in
China; several other companies are also active -
what would you say makes TAGE Idriver stand out
from the rest?
HL: First I would say system integrity. As the
earliest player engaged in the development of
unmanned transportation solutions for open pit
mining and the first to put them into practical
operation in China, TAGE has delivered complete
NHL mining trucks at Bayan
Obo iron ore and rare earths
mine that have been retrofitted
by TAGE Idriver for unmanned
operation
solutions and has a mature product portfolio
including OBU (Onboard Unit) product series, RSU
(Road Side Unit) and Cloud Control Platform. The
OBU product series includes unmanned mine
truck terminal products, bulldozer vehicle
terminal products, excavator vehicle terminal
products, crushing station terminal products and
external on-road vehicles terminal products. Then
there is functional adaptability. Open pit mine
transportation is complex, especially in China. On
TAGE CEO, Professor Yu Guizhen
JUNE 2020 | International Mining 53