West Hall Booth 12359
MINE AUTOMATION mineral metallurgy , equity investment , site construction , new energy and materials , water conservancy and power , and transportation operations . Chairman , Li Jian , expressed aspirations to seize additional business prospects both domestically and internationally alongside EACON in the future .
Zhang Lei , Co-Founder and Chairman of EACON , stated that the successful completion of the $ 97.3 million financing reflects the positive recognition of EACON by the market and industry . Zijin has many mines located on plateaus , which are not only remote but also feature low oxygen levels due to the high altitude . This environment can cause discomfort for mining workers unaccustomed to it . EACON says it hopes to provide solutions for mining operations in these areas through autonomous driving technology in the future .
Looking at the trucks used , EACON currently utilises two flagship models , the EL100 and ET100 , both developed in cooperation with Chinese OEMs . The EL100 , initially named EACON 136 , has a 93 t payload capacity . EACON collaborated with LGMG on the EL100 , designing the hybrid electric powertrain and all associated hardware and software for the AHS system . Currently , EACON operates 250 EL100 trucks across mines in China . Currenty , a drive by wire kit for a Komatsu HD785-7 is also under design .
The ET100 is the latest hybrid electric truck model with a 93 t payload , developed in partnership with Tonly . EACON provides the powertrain system and autonomy kit for the ET100 . EACON is currently operating 170 ET100 trucks , with more expected to join the fleet soon .
In addition to these models , EACON is also using the ET70M , a 70 t payload hybrid electric model , produced by Tonly and EACON , and equipped with autonomy capabilities . This model is mainly deployed in coal mines with relatively narrow operational areas and small crushing stations . Then there is the EY60 , a 60 t battery electric model used in quarries , produced by Yutong . EACON has deployed this model at Fushan Quarry , where the haul roads and crushing stations are extremely narrow . The trucks benefit from energy recovery during heavy loaded downhill operation , significantly reducing charging time .
As of July 1 , 2024 , EACON operates a total of 531 autonomous mining trucks , with the fleet size continuously increasing . It operates in 13 mine sites primarily in northwest China : 11 coal mines , 1 quarry , and 1 metal mine . EACON ' s success in coal mining has been widely acknowledged , and the ' coal mine ' model has been replicated extensively in the Chinese market . Its achievements in quarry operations have also been recognised , and it says it is committed to replicating this success . EACON is currently exploring metal mining and opportunities outside China .
On that note its Australian team has expanded rapidly , now including experts in business development , project management , marketing and finance . EACON told IM : “ We will soon welcome additional engineers to the team . In early August , we moved into a new office in Perth , which places us in a strong position for future growth . We are exploring business opportunities with one gold mine and one iron ore mine , and we ' ll share updates as we move forward .”
EACON has also begun using the name ORCASTRA ® for the EACON AHS system . ORCASTRA ® features distributed architecture that enhances adaptability , offering increased system robustness and improved availability . This design facilitates seamless scaling to larger mines and fleets while expanding its functionality to drive higher productivity at reduced costs .
SafeAI on camera-led perception
In a recent white paper article on Autonomy 2.0 , SafeAI Founder and CEO Bibhrajit Halder discusses his vision of the future – how advanced perception led by cameras and supported by LiDAR and radar “ will transform tomorrow ’ s mining and construction operations .” In December 2023 , CRH Ventures , a subsidiary of global building materials leader CRH PLC , has announced the commencement of a pilot program with SafeAI , a global leader in autonomous solutions for heavy equipment . The pilot program aims to evaluate the feasibility and capabilities of SafeAI ’ s innovative technology for autonomous operations in quarrying . SafeAI also continues to work with Thiess-owned MACA , one of the world ’ s leading diversified contracting groups , to retrofit a mixed fleet of 100 mining trucks across multiple locations .
He states : “ Over the past 15 years , LiDARbased perception systems , which we call part of Autonomy 1.0 , have been pivotal in automating operations . However , while effective , these systems have limitations , notably in false object detection , which can occasionally halt operations and impact productivity . The transition to cameraled perception marks a significant shift in pursuing more accurate , reliable , and efficient autonomous systems in mining and construction operations . This evolution is part of what we call Autonomy 2.0 , where enhanced perception technologies come to the forefront .”
Halder adds : “ At SafeAI , we are excited to bring camera-led perception , supported by the robust depth and positional data from LiDAR and radar . We have connected several terabytes of data and trained our AI model . We are excited to share early results from our work .
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Source : Dana
West Hall Booth 12359
SEPTEMBER 2024 | International Mining 33