WorldWide Drilling Resource

Mines of the Future are Being Driven by Technology Adapted from Information by Rio Tinto Rio Tinto’s Mine of the Future™ is changing what was once con- sidered science fiction, into normal everyday business at three of its iron ore mines in the Pilbara region of West Australia. The company’s Yandicoogina, Hope Downs 4, and Nammuldi mines are the first in the world to move all of their iron ore using fully-automated, driverless haulage trucks. Since introducing its Mine of the Future in 2008, the company has become the world’s largest owner and operator of autonomous haulage system (AHS) trucks with more than 80 in its fleet. In addition to AHS trucks, the company also operates seven fully- autonomous drill systems (ADS) to drill production blastholes. Drones are also being tested for measuring stockpiles and assisting with en- vironmental and maintenance activities. The project’s nerve center is located more than 900 miles away; a team of about 400 people monitor the business’ entire Pilbara operations in real-time. The AHS trucks are built with special advanced computers performing the normal tasks associated with driving a vehicle, such as starting the engine, accelerating, and braking. The computers then respond to GPS directions, supervised remotely by operators, to ensure greater operational safety. The entire mine is mapped and put into a system; the system then figures out the most efficient way to maneuver the trucks through the mine. Since the driverless vehicles are designed to deliver their loads more efficiently, delays are minimized and costs associated with maintenance, tire life, and fuel consumption are reduced. The trucks are also fitted with proximity detection and collision avoidance systems to identify and avoid hazards. AHS isn’t the only advanced technology on the company’s radar. At Rio Tinto’s West Angelas mine, also in the Pilbara re- gion, the world’s first fully ADS has drilled more than 8.5 million feet since it was introduced in 2009. One of the key advantages of ADS is removing drill operators from the mine pit, as well as reducing workers’ exposure to dust, noise, and vibration. Another innovation getting attention is the RTVis™, which works much like ultrasound and delivers real-time 3-D pictures of ore deposits far beneath the surface. Combining this technology with the driverless trucks and autonomous drills has led to greater ore recovery and lower costs. This is because it enables more accurate drilling and blasting, reduced explosive use, and better waste classification, so the trucks are carrying less waste material and more ore. Recently, Rio Tinto’s fleet of autonomous haul trucks achieved a significant milestone by moving their one-billionth ton of material. On average, each autonomous truck is estimated to have operated about 700 hours more than conventional haul trucks during 2017. More importantly, there have been zero injuries attributed to autonomous haul trucks since deployment, highlighting their significant safety advantages. The company plans to expand its fleet of autonomous haul trucks by more than 50% by 2019, through agreements with Caterpillar Inc. and Komatsu Ltd. to convert traditional trucks to autonomous vehicles. Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive Chris Salisbury said, “We are excited to be starting a new chapter in our auto- mation journey with a valued long-term partner in Caterpillar and we are proud to be extending our successful partner- ship with Komatsu on this world-first retrofitting initiative. Rapid advances in technology are continuing to revolution- ize the way large-scale mining is under- taken across the globe. The expansion of our autonomous fleet via retrofitting helps to improve safety, unlocks signifi- cant productivity gains, and continues to cement Rio Tinto as an industry leader in automation and innovation.” What about the workers? The com- pany has been working closely with its employees to introduce them to oppor- tunities for new roles, redeployment, retraining, and upskilling. Rio Tinto was one of the first in the industry to adopt automation. Unlike its human counterparts, AHS trucks can run almost 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, only stopping for maintenance and refueling. By 2019, the company expects to have more than 140 AHS trucks in its fleet. 17 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® APRIL 2018