Australia’s mining sector is playing a lead role in the development of autonomous heavy-duty transport solutions.

Mineral Resources (MinRes) recently announced plans to deploy a fleet of 120 fully autonomous road trains equipped with an autonomous haulage solution provided by specialists Hexagon AB.

The world’s first fully autonomous road trains have been designed and developed for MinRes’ flagship Onslow Iron project in Western Australia.

The vehicles combine technological expertise from Hexagon’s Autonomous Solutions with MinRes’ operational knowledge. They promise benefits including removing the risk of driver fatigue, increasing fleet availability, lowering operating costs and reducing fuel use and emissions.

A team of operators will control the fleet from a central operating centre in Onslow. MinRes is also developing an artificial intelligence-powered monitoring system.

Autonomous road trains form an essential part of the cost-effective and dust-free supply chain that will unlock deposits in the West Pilbara that would otherwise remain undeveloped.

Each triple-trailer vehicle will carry 330 tonnes of iron ore about 150km on a dedicated private haul road from the Ken’s Bore mine site to the Port of Ashburton.

Safety is at the forefront of the and there is no interaction between the autonomous road trains operating on the haul road and vehicles using public roads.

Testing of autonomous road trains has been progressing at MinRes’ Yilgarn iron ore operations since late 2021 ahead of deployment at Onslow Iron.

The project, which is the cornerstone of MinRes’ strategy to deliver low-cost, long-life iron ore operations, will ship about 35 million tonnes of iron ore per year from mid-2024.

“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,” says Mike Grey, MinRes Chief Executive, Mining Services.

“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.”

Hexagon AB is a Swedish software, sensor and autonomous technologies pioneer.

“We see autonomy as a way to vastly improve our world,” says Paolo Guglielmini, Hexagon President and CEO.

He says the agreement with MinRes 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.”

In another Western Australian project, Liebherr’s ongoing development of autonomous haulage technology has reached an important stage with onsite validation of the Liebherr Autonomous Haulage Solution (AHS) now underway.

Liebherr Mining has deployed an autonomous trial fleet of four T 264 trucks to a mine in Western Australia, having completed comprehensive internal validation at its own test sites.

This onsite validation of the 240-tonne trucks marks a new stage of Liebherr’s strategy to accelerate development of a new autonomy product for the mining industry. 

“After significant research, development, and programme planning, Liebherr is excited to announce the commencement of onsite Autonomous Haulage Solution validation as we move to deploy the next generation of autonomy technology for mining equipment,” says Scott Bellamy, Divisional General Manager, Product Management, for Liebherr Mining.

“This deployment not only represents Liebherr Mining’s market introduction of the AHS, but also highlights Liebherr’s continued expansion as a technology solution provider for the mining industry.”