AUTONOMOUS HAULAGE
EACON is now operating around the clock AHS on a fleet of Komatsu HD1500 rigid trucks at Norton Gold Fields in WA
AHS – the next wave
The first AHS technology was deployed commercially in mining almost 20 years ago and will soon pass 10,000 trucks globally. But things are not standing still – Paul Moore reports
The world of autonomous haulage for surface mining fleets is changing. While Caterpillar and Komatsu with their Command for hauling and FrontRunner systems, respectively, continue to dominate the use of AHS in major mining markets outside of China and Russia – the Chinese market has exploded with its own players- the market leader EACON alone now has over 3,100 autonomous trucks running. It and others like CiDi and TAGE Idriver are now looking to take their technology to other markets – and are already doing so, EACON’ s project at Norton Gold Fields in Australia being a case in point.
But it is not that simple – most of the AHS market outside of China has been for large rigid mining trucks while in China it is dominated by smaller payload wide body trucks. In addition, in the non-Chinese mining markets Caterpillar and Komatsu control both the AHS market and the large rigid mining truck market which gives them a lot of strategic power in terms of existing installed base along with leverage in future fleet and replacement fleet discussions.
However, there are aspects of the new AHS breed that the global mining companies want – more ability to run true mixed autonomous and staffed mining fleets, ability to retrofit autonomy on mixed brand fleets including of any age, and greater onboard intelligence within the systems – to minimise stoppages due to things like obstacles, overloading, poor haul road conditions and unrecognised ancillary vehicles. There is also a desire to take away the level of responsibility for AHS performance that currently lies with roles such as the AHS controller and loading tool operator. AI will play an important role in much of this.
So both Caterpillar and Komatsu have a twin track approach – they continue to refine and update their existing AHS to be as flexible and productive as possible, while at the same time working on all new AHS platforms – to be able to meet customer expectations but at the same time try to counter any threats from new competitors. And the competitors don’ t just come from China – companies like Pronto, Steer, LinkOA( Epiroc), xtonomy( Hexagon), sensmore and others are making their presence felt, especially in the quarrying market. The other big truck OEMs – Hitachi Construction Machinery and Liebherr – also remain highly active with their own AHS offerings, while Volvo is progressing fast too. To make sense of the market shifts and current realities – IM spoke to all of the main players involved to see where things are heading.
Caterpillar continues growth but plans for the future
Caterpillar last commented publicly on its AHS numbers in January 2026 – when Caterpillar Inc CTO Jamie Mineart at the CES event cited haulage of over 11 billion tonnes of material.
The AHS truck number is currently 850, and Caterpillar is aiming for over 2,000 AHS trucks by 2030.
It continues to win new orders – a great example being a late 2025 deal with Vale to expand the autonomous haulage fleet at the miner’ s Northern System operations that includes the Carajas mining complex, to approximately 90 autonomous trucks by 2028. It has also successfully made some important renewals – such as the March 2026 agreement with Fortescue to continue the supply and operation of Command for hauling across three of its mining operations in Western Australia.
Caterpillar has also made progress in the quarrying market which has been a major focus – while now well established at Luck Stone’ s Bull Run operation, it announced a new project with Carmeuse for the Drummond Island quarryin May of this year.
IM had the chance to catch up with Caterpillar Resource Industries President Denise Johnson in a recent
Caterpillar Resource Industries President Denise Johnson says its new autonomy platform will take the user experience, safety and productivity to a new level
wide ranging discussion, which included AHS. She commented on new trends and Caterpillar’ s AHS plans in a fast moving market:“ Command for hauling continues to set new standards in AHS, but you are right that things are evolving quickly. As such, we are building a completely new autonomy platform that will take the user experience, safety and productivity to a new level. AHS generally takes 18 months from the time we sign a contract with a customer to the time that we deploy it; we want that to take a matter of weeks. Our new AHS will be much easier for customers to implement and use, with fewer change-management requirements. Using things like onboard AI and greater sensor fusion, we are making the machines smarter, more effective and more productive.
Johnson added:“ We also recognise that the cost of autonomy needs to come down – reducing implementation duration is part of that but also using more cost-effective hardware. Additionally, today our technology is primarily a rules-based system. We are moving towards a more experience-based system where the haul truck learns on every cycle. That is where we are leveraging AI to ensure we achieve the highest productivity possible with minimal stoppages. Our new AHS- to your point- will also be deployed on mixed OEM fleets. We will be able to deploy it on any brand in addition to Caterpillar, which is something that our customers have been asking for. We can do
International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2026 17