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AUTONOMOUS MINING Autonomy Gradually Gains Momentum Although the concept of driverless haul trucks emerged in the 1970s, it took 30 years before the first systems took shape. E&MJ; looks at the challenges and achievements. By Simon Walker, European Editor While the concept of driverless haul trucks has been mooted for decades, the reality has been more challenging to implement. Nonetheless, a small handful of mines have led the way, and the experience gained by these pioneers has helped to bring the concept at least part-way to maturity. With safety the most critical aspect, and safety-related incidents the most likely to receive withering criticism, it has been a gradual learning process for the mines and machine manufacturers involved. That the technology has been implemented with, on the whole, a good safety record, is a testament both to its strength and to the dedication of the people who have made it work satisfactorily. No one will dispute that there have been huge challenges along the haul road. Running a mine with autonomous trucks is not just a matter of taking the driver from the cab and putting him or her into a control center. If it is already working, the operation has to be redesigned, not only to take the concept into account, but also to make sure that it provides the intended benefits—so it is easy to see that the introduction of autonomous haulage is actually simpler when integral to the design of a new mine. Little surprise then, that although initial trials were undertaken in stand-alone sections of existing mines, most of today's operating systems can be found where mining companies have grabbed the opportunity for installation in new pits. So, what are the main drivers behind the introduction of autonomous haulage in surface mines? Safety is one, since automated systems are less likely to experience unpredictable mistakes than their manually driven counterparts. In a presentation on automated haul trucks, Professor John Meech of the University of British Columbia pointed out that worldwide, typically two or three truck operators die each year because of incidents resulting from human error. Economy is certainly another, since the cost of employing a team of drivers to run a haul truck round the clock is substantial. Add to that the raw fact that, driving a big haul truck for a 10- or 12-hour shift on a regular load-haul-dump-return cycle is essentially a tedious task. Since tedium quickly leads to boredom, the potential for inattention increases proportionately, and hence the risk of mistakes being made. Control-center staff have second-by-second information on each truck's position. (Photo courtesy of Caterpillar) 32 E&MJ; • JANUARY 2014 There is also the issue of job dissatisfaction, with mines in remote locations— such as the Pilbara in Western Australia— experiencing high operator turnover simply because of the working and living conditions. Shortages of skilled operators are also becoming more commonplace, with truck drivers and maintenance personnel being high up the list of those trades affected. Yet another reason, then, for mines in remote locations to look seriously at reducing their dependence on staff who may be hard to source, harder to retain, and expensive to employ. The Key Players Thus far, the introduction of autonomous haul trucks has been targeted for a few specific operations, with the focus predominantly on mines producing iron ore and copper. Working with Komatsu, Codelco led the way, firstly with a trial at its Radimiro Tomic copper mine in northern Chile, then with the introduction of autonomous trucks at Gabriela Mistral (Gaby), which was commissioned in 2008 as the world's first surface mine to rely completely on this technology. Komatsu has also been heavily involved with the introduction of autonomous trucks as part of Rio Tinto's Mine of the Future program, which has grown steadily since the first units began running at West Angelas in 2008. Subsequent extensions to the scheme have brought machines into operation at Yandi and, most recently, at Hope Downs 4, with Rio Tinto aiming to have a 150 strong fleet running at its Pilbara iron-ore operations by 2015. Not surprisingly, given that they face the same challenges, the other Pilbara operators have followed suit, albeit by favoring Caterpillar's approach to autonomous haulage. Having run an initial trial at its Navajo coal mine in the U.S., BHP Billiton is now building its autonomous truck fleet at Jimblebar, while Caterpillar is working with Fortescue to introduce the technology at its Solomon hub. Remember that Fortescue has already shown its innowww.e-mj.com