FLEET AUTOMATION
First EACON AHS equipped truck deployed in Australia
Fresh from being retrofitted at the Thiess Hazelmere facility, the first haul truck in Australia equipped with EACON’ s autonomous technology in August was getting ready for commissioning. Jerry, a Komatsu HD1500, just arrived on-site at Norton Gold Fields Pty Ltd, ready to begin an autonomy trial in partnership with EACON Mining.
Thiess stated:“ We’ re proud to enable this trial as EACON’ s deployment partner, bringing operational expertise and on-site capability to help ensure a successful outcome. With more than a decade of experience in autonomous mining services, this milestone reflects Thiess’ continued focus on delivering innovative asset and technology solutions for our clients.”
Already deployed on over 1,800 trucks across more than 20 mine sites, with over 55 million kilometres of real-world operation, this marks a major milestone for EACON in Australia. EACON stated:“ We’ re proud to partner with Thiess for our local deployment, providing operational expertise and on-site support to help deliver a safe and successful outcome. We look forward to sharing Jerry’ s performance in the field soon.”
In May 2025, Thiess announced that it had partnered with Norton Gold Fields and EACON Mining Technology, to officially launch a groundbreaking tripartite partnership to deploy autonomous haulage technology in Australia.
The partners added that this collaboration marks a significant milestone in the Australian mining sector, advancing the deployment of OEM-agnostic autonomous haulage systems through retrofit technology. By integrating EACON’ s autonomy solution into Norton Gold Fields and Thiess mining trucks, the project reflects a shared ambition to enhance safety, productivity, and sustainability across the industry.
The project is taking place at Norton Gold Fields’ open-pit gold mines in Western Australia. NGF, a wholly owned subsidiary of
EACON autonomy equipped Komatsu truck at Norton Gold Fields
global mining group Zijin Mining, is playing a key role in the group’ s broader strategy to introduce smart and sustainable technologies across its international portfolio.
The rollout will proceed in two phases. In the initial stage, EACON is deploying its autonomy solution on two Thiess Komatsu HD1500 trucks operating within Norton Gold Fields’ mining boundary. This phase will focus on validating both the Drive-by- Wire system and autonomous functionality under real-world mining conditions.
In the second phase, the project will scale to a fully autonomous haulage fleet operating within an active production pit, integrating seamlessly into day-to-day mining operations. The initial phase is scheduled to commence in the coming months, with full production trials targeted for mid 2026.
to grow, lead, and be part of something groundbreaking.”
He added:“ At Luck Stone, our mission is to ignite human potential, and this project is an example of what’ s possible when people, purpose, and progress come together. We’ re grateful to Caterpillar and confident that operators across the country will have a similar experience.”
The collaboration between Caterpillar and Luck Stone began with a shared vision to transform quarry operations through cutting-edge technology. Bull Run Quarry became the first site in the aggregates industry to deploy Caterpillar’ s autonomous Cat ® 777 trucks, supported by a full autonomy technology stack and site integration services.
Since the initial deployment, the collaboration has focused on validating autonomy along with the people and processes in conditions that are typical in quarry operations but distinct from mining. Caterpillar states:“ Reaching the one million tons hauled autonomously milestone confirms that autonomous haulage can deliver consistent, repeatable performance. It also signals how autonomous solutions will address skilled labour shortages, improve site safety, increase operational efficiency, and upskill quarry employees to run autonomy.”
Caterpillar and Luck Stone are continuing to explore opportunities to expand autonomy across additional sites and applications. Cat says the success at Bull Run sets a precedent for the broader aggregates industry and reinforces the companies’ commitment to innovation and operational excellence.
Caterpillar’ s autonomy wins in Arizona
Copper miner ASARCO recently paved the way for the future of mining at its Ray copper mine in Arizona with the launch of its new autonomous haulage system, adding 11 new 327 ton payload Cat 794 diesel-electric drive autonomous haul trucks to the fleet.
In a statement shared in May with Arizona’ s CopperArea. com, ASARCO said that together with Caterpillar and its dealer, Empire Cat, it is proud to be embarking on a transformative journey at its Ray Mine operations with the introduction of Caterpillar’ s autonomous haulage system
( AHS), Cat ® MineStar™ Command for hauling.
It is making history as one of the first mines in the US to be fully autonomous using MineStar™ Command for hauling after Freeport’ s Bagdad copper operation, which began the conversion of its Cat 256 ton payload mechanical drive 793D trucks to autonomy in January with haul truck 230, with the main rollout having started in March. It is also working with Empire Cat and expects to have its entire fleet of 33 haul trucks driverless by the end of 2025, which will be responsible for more than 95 % of Bagdad’ s total haulage needs.
There, four autonomous trucks were initially operated in a pushback dedicated to autonomous haulage only, followed by a larger pushback being dedicated to autonomous haulage. In May, a new autonomous command centre started running, operating 24 / 7 to provide real-time visibility and control that enhances safety, efficiency and communication. Also by May, the autonomous fleet had expanded to 15 trucks and moved more than 3 Mt of material.
Back to ASARCO’ s Ray mine:“ This groundbreaking initiative marks another
44 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2025