{"id":81186,"date":"2023-01-25T00:59:59","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T00:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/\/?p=81186"},"modified":"2023-06-27T06:33:42","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T06:33:42","slug":"robots-run-around-the-clock-at-roy-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/robots-run-around-the-clock-at-roy-hill\/","title":{"rendered":"Robots Run Around the Clock at Roy Hill."},"content":{"rendered":"

WA\u2019s booming Pilbara region will soon host the world\u2019s largest fully autonomous mine.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Roy Hill site, located south and inland of Port Hedland, is shifting its entire conventional haul truck fleet of 96 to driverless operation.<\/span><\/p>\n

With iron ore reserves of more than 2.4 billion tonnes, Roy Hill is on track to produce 55 million tonnes of product per year, becoming one of Australia\u2019s largest mines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After exploring autonomous operators over the past three years, the Roy Hill Board selected mining equipment giant <\/span>Epiroc<\/b> and automation specialist <\/span>ASI Mining<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we speak, a portion of the company’s converted haul trucks is \u201crunning around the clock\u201d in an autonomous testing zone alongside excavators and ancillary vehicles at intersections, waste dumps and load areas.<\/span><\/p>\n

Introduced partly in response to a <\/span>very tight labour market<\/b>, Roy Hill hopes to see the project and autonomous haul truck numbers grow steadily from March through 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Road to Autonomous Haulage Down Under<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Driverless haul truck technology is undergoing a quantum leap.<\/span><\/p>\n

And as one of the leading countries in developing and deploying autonomous mining trucks, Australia is at the cutting edge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Multiple mining companies across the country have been using autonomous haulage technology<\/a> for several years, noticing significant benefits in <\/span>improved efficiency, safety, and cost savings.<\/b><\/p>\n

Rio Tinto has used autonomous haul trucks at its iron ore mines in Western Australia since 2008; it now has over 150 autonomous trucks operating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

BHP Billiton is another mining giant to test and deploy autonomous technology at its iron ore mines in WA.<\/span><\/p>\n

Renowned as a mining innovator across a broad range of applications and with a firmly-established mining industry, several Australian companies are also developing and supplying autonomous equipment for export.<\/span><\/p>\n

So how do autonomous haul trucks work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To do their job, autonomous mining trucks are equipped with various technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the critical components include the following:<\/span><\/p>\n