SURFACE MINING TRUCKS
Hitachi is developing a battery trolley mining truck with the aim of starting demonstration tests at a customer mine in December 2023 and launching it by 2024
new phase of autonomy in mining include SafeAI , Auto-mate , Pronto AI , VIST Group and xtonomy , though these are by no means the only examples . You also have contractors working on solutions themselves – notably Brazil ’ s U & M , which had successfully automated Caterpillar 777 trucks in several client trials using its own technology and has subsequently moved into a commercial phase with clients , including with larger autonomous BEV truck models , but details are now covered by NDAs .
Autonomy filtering down through the industry
SafeAI , a leader in autonomous heavy equipment , and MACA , one of the world ’ s leading diversified contracting groups , recently announced a partnership in the form of an MoU to retrofit a mixed fleet of 100 mining trucks across multiple locations . Together with SafeAI ’ s Australian partner , Position Partners , the companies will create one of the largest autonomous heavy equipment fleets in Australia , “ powering safer , more productive and more costeffective mine sites .”
SafeAI has built a next generation autonomous platform that brings the latest in artificial intelligence ( AI ) to heavy industry . The company ’ s platform is interoperable and vehicle-agnostic , enabling mining and construction companies to retrofit any vehicle , from any manufacturer , with autonomous technology . With advanced multimodal sensors and significant onboard processing power , SafeAI-enabled equipment can independently make efficient , accurate decisions to keep operations running smoothly and safely ,
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In its statement to the ASX , MACA said : “ The SafeAI team brings decades of combined experience in building some of the earliest autonomous mining and construction equipment , holds several patents on that technology and has deep expertise in developing critical safety protocols and technology for autonomous passenger cars , as well as development in advanced AI technology . Position Partners is the distributor of SafeAI and provides positioning and machine control solutions for mining , construction and earthmoving activities .”
The MoU is binding with key terms including that the parties will work collaboratively on the deployment of autonomy and development of future applications ; the MoU providing MACA the first 100 SafeAI Autonomy Solutions in Australia ; each party retaining the rights to their respective IP ; and Position Partners providing operational and site support to MACA .
“ The mining industry has had autonomous equipment for more than twenty years – but
Two big developments in new AHS players - SafeAI technology running on contractor MACA ' s Hitachi EH3500 truck in Australia ( left ) and Automate technology applied to a Cat 775 truck in Israel ( right ) we ’ ve gone as far as we can go with the first iteration of this technology ,” said Bibhrajit Halder , Founder and CEO of SafeAI . “ SafeAI and MACA are going all in on the next generation of autonomy – a generation that is AI-powered , versatile and scalable to bring meaningful , widespread change to the mining industry .”
MACA , a rapidly-growing contract miner that recently reported a $ 13 billion pipeline of opportunities , needed a solution capable of scaling with its business . SafeAI ’ s interoperable retrofit technology unlocks newfound scalability and versatility by enabling the company to optimise its existing fleet , rather than forcing it to complete a highly time-consuming and costly transition to an entirely new fleet of autonomous vehicles .
“ This technology is a game changer for our business , our customers and our industry ,” said Shane Clark , MACA ’ s General Manager of Estimating and Technical Services . “ SafeAI ’ s versatile , scalable solution is unmatched in our industry right now , and has profound implications for site safety , efficiency and costeffectiveness . We expect to see quick takeup from our customers as they begin to see the tremendous impact of this technology .”
Through this partnership , SafeAI and Position Partners will work with MACA to retrofit its large , mixed fleet of haul trucks with autonomous hardware and software . MACA will be the first contract miner to deploy AI-powered autonomy for its customers , establishing safer , more productive and more cost-effective operations . “ With SafeAI ’ s scalable , AI-powered technology , we can quickly deploy autonomous heavy equipment across our sites – creating safer , more productive operations and setting a new standard for our industry ,” said Mike Sutton , CEO and Managing Director of MACA .
This partnership follows a successful proof of concept between the three companies at the Karlawinda gold mine owned by Capricorn Metals and comes on the heels of a year of significant growth for SafeAI . In 2021 , SafeAI expanded into four new countries , doubled its headcount ,
International Mining | MAY 2022