Global projects and exploration
Australia
Rio Tinto to operate autonomous trains
Rio Tinto has been granted accreditation for
its AutoHaul autonomous train operation by
Australia’s Office of the National Rail Safety
Regulator (ONRSR). The project will focus on a
world-first heavy haul, long distance autonomous
train fleet for the shipment of iron ore to ports in
Pilbara, Western Australia. Rio Tinto expects the
project to be complete by the end of the year.
Rio plans to introduce the new trains
gradually across its network as it moves towards
full commissioning on the project, which was
first launched in 2012 as part of Rio’s “Mines of
the future” programme.
Following significant delays (initial estimates
pegged a 2015 project start), testing was carried
out last year using the company’s autonomous
trains in early 2017, with drivers on board for
monitoring purposes.
The first fully autonomous journey (that
is, with no driver on board) was completed
in October 2017 when an AutoHaul
train journeyed nearly 100km from Wombat
Junction to Paraburdoo — a significant step
towards the realisation of the project.
According to a statement from Rio, by the
end of the first quarter of 2018, about 65% of all
train kilometres were completed in autonomous
mode — more than three million kilometres in
total. Rio Tinto is heavily reliant on rail networks
for its Australian business, transporting ore from
16 mines to four port terminals across 1 700km
of track.
Australia
RCT’s automation technology is
providing innovative automation solutions
at Independence Group (IGO)’s Jaguar
Operation, 60km north of Leonora in
Western Australia. Jaguar, a high-grade
zinc-copper-silver mine that IGO has
managed since 2011, is no stranger to
RCT’s Smart Technology, with the
ControlMaster Teleremote having been
deployed on their CAT 1700G loaders for
the past few years.
In November 2017, IGO upgraded
to RCT’s state-of-the-art Guidance
Automation Solution to speed up bogging
cycle times, increase production, and
minimise risk of damage to the loaders.
According to Grant Hancock, alternate
underground manager at IGO’s Jaguar
Operation, the upgrade has already
delivered immediate and substantial
benefits. “Since introducing the Guidance
technology, we have experienced a
significant reduction in cycle times for the
bogger, with a 32% improvement in cycle
times when bogging on long tram routes,”
explains Hancock. “We realised that the
greater the tram length, the greater the
improvement. Recently, in long winding
drive, our operators tell us that the
difference between Guidance and normal
Teleremote is approximately 3:1 buckets.”
The Guidance Automation solution
controls the machine’s steering, braking,
and speed. The speed is determined
by the minimum width of the drive
[10] MINING MIRROR JULY 2018
Group
Automation improves mining
A loader at the Independence Group’s Jaguar operation in Western Australia.
The company is automating its mining fleet.
and the look-ahead distance of the
onboard laser units, as well as the
object detection feature to further
assist in tight areas. In addition to
the improvement in tramming times,
there has also been a reduction
in damage done to the machines,
which is another added advantage to
introducing automated technology.
“There has been little to no damage
on the bogger that is on Guidance
compared to the other bogger that is
not,” says Hancock.
“This is positive on our bottom line
because it means the bogger is spending
less time in the maintenance shop and
more time underground moving ore,”
he adds. Overall feedback from those
working at the Jaguar Operation has
been very positive, with both the bogger
operators enjoying the opportunity to
be introduced to innovative new mining
technologies, and management seeing
tangible improvements in the production
cycles, adding significant value to the
IGO business.