HIGH PROFILE
ASI ’ s agnostic autonomy proven
The Autonomous Haulage System ( AHS ) playing field just got bigger as ASI Mining ’ s OEM agnostic technology has passed its production verification phase . Paul Moore reviews this big step for open autonomy
ASI Mining has achieved full commercialisation of its AHS program after successfully completing the Production Verification phase at Roy Hill which included the operation of a mixed fleet of Cat 793F and Hitachi EH5000 haul trucks operating under ASI Mining ’ s Mobius traffic management system ( TMS ). Full integration with Wenco , the fleet management system used by Roy Hill , is also underway as part of ASI Mining ’ s interoperability with fleet management systems .
The phase included KPI performance verification of efficiency , productivity , and AHS availability using a fleet of ten haul trucks operating in both ore and waste hauls at multiple locations within the Roy Hill iron ore mine . With the validation phase complete , Roy Hill will move into the expansion phase to convert and operate up to four different truck models under Mobius representing a total fleet size of 96 haul trucks .
Successful completion of this verification phase has enabled ASI Mining to fully validate the overall performance capability and operational safety of its system and establish the full level of related field services for deployment and support of its AHS product . Support of ASI Mining ’ s AHS globally will be through Epiroc ’ s distribution network , such as the one based in Perth Australia , supporting the Roy Hill deployment .
While Mobius supports AHS operations , it is an autonomous mining platform which supports other applications such as Mobius for Blasting , Mobius for Drills , Mobius for Dozers , etc . As Roy Hill had announced , the project will focus on safe and highly productive operations and will leverage ASI ’ s Mobius™ to achieve an integration platform which can continue to scale for future
Monitoring autonomous truck movements at the Roy Hill Remote Operations Centre
applications . The commercialisation of AHS will now also enable bringing these other autonomous applications to market such as warter carts , dozers , loaders etc .
Roy Hill ’ s AHS plans in focus
It was on January 12 , 2023 that Roy Hill announced it would be expanding its autonomous
One of the autonomous Cat trucks running at Roy Hill
Some of the Roy Hill , ASI Mining , Epiroc and other staff involved in the successful production . verification phase
haulage system ( AHS ) from March 2023 , converting its mixed fleet of 96 conventional haul trucks to driverless operation and thereby creating the world ’ s largest autonomous mine . This is an increase of the originally planned conversion number of 77 trucks .
Over three years ago that Gina Rinehart , the Executive Chair of Roy Hill and majority owner Hancock Prospecting , together with her Executives , travelled overseas to meet with autonomous operators and chose to recommend global mining equipment and solutions provider Epiroc and automation specialist ASI Mining to the Roy Hill Board .
Since then , Roy Hill , Epiroc and ASI have worked in partnership to develop a world-first autonomous haul truck solution that ’ s interoperable and scalable regardless of manufacturer , generally known as Original Equipment Manufacturer ( OEM ) agnostic .
Other players have also been involved – for vehicle conversions to Drive-by-Wire capability , ASI worked with its partner Danfoss , a major supplier of hydraulics and electronically controlled components for haul trucks , while the mine was already utilising the latest interoperable FMS technology from Wenco International Mining Systems which interfaces with ASI Mining ’ s Mobius traffic management software . On the ground , autonomous integration specialist Sedna helped ensure operational readiness to accept the technology particularly in relation to networks and command centres .
The project ’ s Production Verification phase is now complete and ten converted haul trucks fitted with vehicle automation kits and in cab clients are using ASI Mining ’ s Mobius traffic management and on-board automation systems to navigate the mine ’ s virtual map , communicating with ancillary vehicles and the Control Room .
Roy Hill says the AHS fleet is meeting the desired safety and productivity metrics and
10 International Mining | FEBRUARY 2023