The site of a loaded haul truck moving at full speed without a driver has become commonplace
at Rio Tinto.

Last year, Rio Tinto’s autonomous fleet accounted for about a quarter of the total material moved across our Pilbara mines. On average, each autonomous truck was estimated to have operated about 700 hours more than conventional haul trucks during 2017 and around 15% lower load and haul unit costs.

Importantly, there have been zero injuries attributed to autonomous haul trucks since deployment, highlighting their significant safety advantages.

With more than 80 autonomous Komatsu trucks currently operating and plans in place to increase this to more than 140 by the end of 2019, the pace of automation across Rio Tinto’s iron ore business is accelerating.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive Chris Salisbury said, “Hauling 1 billion mt autonomously is an impressive milestone for our business and again highlights Rio Tinto’s pioneering spirit when it comes to adopting revolutionary new technologies, which are making the industry safer and more efficient.

“We are studying future additions to our autonomous truck fleet that we expect will contribute to our $5 billion productivity program, specifically Iron Ore’s commitment to deliver $500 million of additional free cash flow from 2021 onward.

“We remain committed to working closely with our employees as we expand our autonomous haul truck fleet including providing opportunities for new roles, redeployment, retraining and upskilling.”

Last month, Rio Tinto approved retrofit programs to add autonomous technology to 48 existing Komatsu and Caterpillar haul trucks over the next two years. About 20% of Rio Tinto’s existing fleet of almost 400 haul trucks in the Pilbara is autonomous. Following the completion of the retrofit projects autonomous trucks will represent about 30% of the fleet.

Rio Tinto has been partnering with Komatsu for 20 years and in September deployed the world’s first retrofitted Komatsu autonomous haul truck at its Hope Downs 4 operation.