EACON Mining Technology has marked a major step forward for mining automation in Australia, announcing that its retrofitted Komatsu HD1500 haul truck has successfully begun fully autonomous testing without a safety driver at Norton Gold Fields’ Mulgarrie Open-Pit Mine.
The achievement represents a key milestone in a tri-partite project between EACON, Thiess, and Norton Gold Fields, confirming the successful integration of autonomous capabilities onto Komatsu trucks.
The truck, affectionately named Jerry, is a used Komatsu HD1500 that had clocked roughly 20,000 operating hours prior to the retrofit.
Following months of rigorous testing and validation, Jerry has now met all criteria to operate independently, validating the performance and safety of EACON’s complete autonomous driving system under Australian mine conditions.
Phase 1 of the collaboration focused on proving the stability, reliability, and safety of EACON’s retrofit autonomy solution.
The technology delivered consistent and responsive vehicle behaviour under autonomous control while effectively integrating EACON’s drive-by-wire retrofit kit with the truck’s native systems.
According to the company, the successful tuning of control algorithms has enabled the autonomous system to mirror the original handling and operational characteristics of the Komatsu platform.
Comprehensive system-level tests were carried out across the major functional layers of autonomy — including perception, planning, decision-making, and vehicle control — confirming the solution’s readiness for expanded deployment and the next phase of field trials.
Elaine Jin, Chief Operating Officer of EACON Mining Australia, said the breakthrough highlights disciplined execution and strong collaboration between partners.
“EACON are proud to have reached this significant milestone, supported by the strong partnerships forged with Thiess and Norton Gold Fields,” said Jin.
“Achieving this milestone safely and on schedule validates the maturity of our ORCASTRA system, its adaptability to the Australian mining environment and its proven performance on large-scale rigid dump trucks.”
Thiess, a partner in the project, has lent its long-standing expertise to the initiative.
Ryan Kirkwood, Group Executive – Assets & Autonomy of Thiess, said the company is committed to shaping the safe adoption of autonomous technologies across complex, brownfield operations.
“Thiess has implemented, operated and optimised autonomous solutions for haulage fleets, dozer and drill applications globally for close to 15 years — we’re pleased to bring our experience to this project to support change management and implementation processes, from commissioning through to successful maintenance with our workforce of the future.”
With Jerry now fully operational, a second Komatsu HD1500 truck — Tom — has completed retrofit works and is being deployed to the Mulgarrie site to support expanded testing and validation activities.
Wei Lin, CEO of Norton Gold Fields, said the achievement underscores how autonomous haulage can be safely integrated into active operations.
“This milestone demonstrates the potential for retrofit autonomous haulage to be safely introduced into active Australian gold mining operations,” said Lin.
“The project has progressed in a structured and measured way, with safety and operational readiness at the forefront.”
