FLEET AUTOMATION
Automation infiltration
The new EACON136 running at the South Pit at the TBEA coal operation in China
From a small number of first movers , autonomy is rapidly infiltrating mining fleets . Paul Moore looks at key projects , technologies and developments
When discussing the latest on automation technology , it is always good to reflect on how far things have come . Taking Caterpillar and surface mining truck haulage alone – the leading OEM now has almost 600 Command for hauling trucks running on customer sites . In more than 10 years in operation Caterpillar autonomous mining trucks have achieved 230 + million kilometres safely travelled and are running at 25 sites on three continents . More than 6.3 billion tonnes have been safely hauled by Cat autonomous trucks .
One of the most interesting recent rollouts was with leading global mining contractor , Thiess . On June 6 , Thiess Group Executive Assets , Technical Services and Technology Ramesh Liyanage and General Manager Mining Vikesh Magan joined Pembroke Resources Chairman and CEO Barry
Autonomous Cat 794 AC , operated by contractor Thiess at the new Pembroke Resources Olive Downs coal operation
Tudor , and senior executives from Caterpillar , Liebherr and Hastings Deering , to mark the commencement of mining at the Olive Downs Complex in Central Queensland .
The official moving of first dirt celebrated the safe mobilisation of Thiess people , plant and equipment to the complex , including a new Liebherr R 9800 excavator and several Caterpillar autonomous-ready 794 AC haul trucks . It represents a significant milestone for the Olive Downs Complex to deploy both Cat ® MineStar Command for hauling and Command for drilling – Caterpillar ’ s autonomous hauling and drilling solutions .
Thiess , together with Pembroke , Caterpillar and Hastings Deering will provide 21 autonomous haul trucks , three autonomous drills and a private LTE network for the complex to enable full operations to commence in late 2023 .
Running LVs on the autonomous haulage system
Komatsu Ltd and Toyota Motor Corporation have launched a joint project to develop an Autonomous Light Vehicle ( ALV ) that will run on Komatsu ’ s FrontRunner Autonomous Haulage System ( AHS ). The partners stated : “ To realise further safety and productivity improvements in mines by running autonomous haul trucks and automated ALV controlled by AHS , Komatsu and Toyota are launching an effort to jointly develop
52 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2023