In a significant advancement for mining automation, Komatsu and Rio Tinto have celebrated the delivery of the 300th autonomous haulage system (AHS) truck to Rio Tinto’s Pilbara operations in Western Australia.
This milestone marks a continuation of a successful partnership that began with a Memorandum of Understanding in 2011 to deploy 150 AHS trucks at Rio Tinto’s site.
The AHS trucks play a crucial role in enhancing mine safety and addressing labour shortages by removing human operators from potentially hazardous environments.
This technology has allowed the fleet at Rio Tinto sites to complete 8.9 million operating hours and move over 4.8 billion tonnes of material, improving site productivity by 15 per cent.
Currently, the 300 AHS trucks are distributed across 10 of Rio Tinto’s Australian mine sites, contributing to approximately 80 per cent of their daily production capacity.
Jamie Sanders, Rio Tinto’s Global Head of Procurement, praised the partnership with Komatsu: “Komatsu is a fantastic partner that has helped us improve our operations from a health and safety, and efficiency perspective. We look forward to continuing our collaboration into the future,” Sanders said.
The delivery of the 300th truck was commemorated with a traditional Japanese ‘Daruma doll’ ceremony, symbolising perseverance and achievement.
This ceremony, which began when the initial agreement was signed in 2011, was completed with the painting of the doll’s second eye, marking the accomplishment of their goal.
As Komatsu and Rio Tinto look to the future, both companies are committed to accelerating the pace of mining automation, continuing their partnership to develop sustainable solutions for the mining industry.