Driverless Trucks in the Mining Industry
amount to filling Wembley Stadium approximately 80 times ,” Walsh said .
Rio plans to add an additional 150 units of the 930E FrontRunner , each capable of carrying more than 300 tones , over the next four years . Komatsu is working with General Electric to produce the engine and other nextgeneration mining equipment .
In addition to productivity , unmanned vehicles provide a wealth of safety additions .
BHP Announced earlier this year it would be expanding a second circuit at the Jimblebar mine , increasing the fleet to six trucks . In the announcement , BHP cited safety as one of the biggest drivers behind the trial ’ s expansion .
“ The use of autonomous haul trucks has the potential to introduce safety benefits by removing people from potentially hazardous environments ; increasing the predictability and productivity of haulage operations , providing new employment and training opportunities for our people and reducing the labour intensity of future mining operations ,” the announcement said .
With the use of driverless trucks , operations become more predictable for mining companies , helping to remove the human error and fatigue possibility . Fewer mistakes mean greater reduction in employee risk .
According to Tim Day of BHP Billiton , the motive for driverless trucks is straightforward . “ The single biggest reason is safety .”
‘ The use of autonomous haul trucks has the potential to introduce safety benefits by removing people from potentially hazardous environments ’
The main motice for driverless rucks is safety
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