A multinational resources producer is preparing to roll out nimbler autonomous heavy vehicles.
Rio Tinto recently partnered with Sweden-headquartered Scania to introduce “more agile” driverless haul trucks at the Channar mine, 446km south of Karratha.
Both companies will start trialling new, 40-tonne payload autonomous heavy vehicles in April 2022 under a long-term research and development collaboration agreement.
There is also potential for trucks to be converted to electric-powered drivetrains, which are promised to deliver many “productivity” and “environmental” benefits. These include lower emissions, energy expenses and infrastructure requirements, delivering both capital and operating savings.
“Our climate action plan includes phasing out the purchase of new diesel haul trucks by 2030 and partnering with industry leaders, such as Scania, across a range of fields is an important step towards achieving that. As well as the potential decarbonisation benefits this partnership provides a path to potential productivity improvements,” Rio Tinto group technical managing director Santi Pal said in a public statement.
“We seek to put mining on a pathway to net-zero emissions. This is a major step towards the goals of a sustainable autonomous mining solution, and builds on our already fruitful long-term collaboration,” Scania vice president and head of autonomous solutions Peter Hafmar added.
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