Mineral Resources and Hexagon have signed a historic deal for Hexagon to provide a driverless haulage solution for Mineral Resources’ fleet of 120 road trains. Fully autonomous, truck-agnostic road trains are the world’s first. The unmanned systems will be an important part of a safe, efficient, and dust-free way to move iron ore.
Under the terms of a ground-breaking agreement, Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) will put into operation a fleet of completely autonomous road trains that are outfitted with an autonomous haulage solution that is supplied by industry specialists Hexagon AB.
Western Australia’s Onslow Iron Ore Project, a flagship for Mineral Resources, has commissioned the planning and creation of the first entirely self-driving road trains worldwide. World’s first mining investment in autonomous road trains technology.
Hexagon’s Autonomous Solutions technology and Mineral Resources’ operational know-how come together in these haulage trucks, which hold great promise.
These benefits include eliminating the potential for driver fatigue, raising fleet availability, decreasing operating expenses, and cutting down on pollutants and fuel use.
The fleet will be operated by a team of operators who will be based out of a central operational centre in Onslow. In addition to this, Mineral Resources is working on a monitoring system that is powered by artificial intelligence.
To explore otherwise untapped reserves in the West Pilbara, an efficient and dust-free supply system is required, and autonomous road trains play a crucial role in this.
From the Ken’s Bore mine site to the Port of Ashburton, there is approximately 150 kilometres of dedicated private haul road that will be travelled by each triple-trailer vehicle carrying 330 tonnes of iron ore.
The design of the project has an emphasis on health and safety. Through the use of grade separation, there will be no chance of collision between the driverless road trains that are running on the haul road and the vehicles that are using the public roadways.
At the port, there is an enclosed storage facility with a negative pressure capacity of 220,000 tonnes, and ore will be transferred there. Ore will be transported to cape-size carriers 40 kilometres off the coast by transhippers with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes from that location.
Since the latter half of 2021, testing of autonomous road trains has been making headway at Mineral Resources Yilgarn iron ore mines. This is in preparation for the full implementation of the latest technology for Onslow Iron.
From roughly mid-2024 on, the project will transport about 35 million tonnes of iron ore annually, making it the centrepiece of Mineral Resources’ goal to offer low-cost, long-life iron ore operations.
Mike Grey, Chief Executive Officer of Mineral Resources’ Mining Services, stated that:
We’re excited to cement our partnership with Hexagon to deliver the world’s first fleet of autonomous road trains, which will be an essential part of Onslow Iron’s safe, efficient and dust-free solution for hauling ore.
Automation will remove the risk of driver fatigue, lower operating costs and reduce fuel use and emissions. There’s enormous potential for these vehicles to transform mining across the world.
Paolo Guglielmini, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hexagon, stated further:
At Hexagon, we see autonomy as a way to vastly improve our world. Today’s agreement with Mineral Resources will ensure that transport activities will be safer, more sustainable, and more productive. I’m excited to see how similar solutions can be applied in other markets such as agriculture and heavy industry.
