Economic & Industrial

Australian miners embracing automation in quest for improved safety, efficiency

Australian miners embracing automation in quest for improved safety, efficiency
Mining News Pro - While the term ‘automation’ might evoke visions of a Schwarzenegger-esque future in which machines rise up to take over the world, it has come to have a distinctly different connotation in Australia.
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According to Mining News Pro -From drones being used to safely map, survey and explore mining operations to autonomous trains hauling millions of tonnes of ore over thousands of kilometres, automation has become the new fixation for Australian miners.

In August, diversified miner Rio Tinto approved a $146-million investment into initial work at its Koodaideri iron-ore project, in the Pilbara, that could potentially mark a turning point for the company.

Koodaideri is slated to be Rio’s first intelligent mine in the Pilbara, incorporating the latest in high technology in the industry and using an increased level of automation and robotics.

This is an important step for our Koodaideri project, which will be a significant leap forward for the global mining industry and Rio Tinto,” Rio Tinto iron-ore division CEO Chris Salisbury says of the investment.

“We’ve been building mines in the Pilbara for over 50 years, and, subject to final approvals, Koodaideri will incorporate all that knowledge to enable us to build the smartest, safest and most efficient mine we’ve ever constructed. The deployment of leading-edge technology will deliver a step change in both safety and productivity for our business.”

If the operation is approved, construction at Koodaideri is scheduled to begin in 2019, with first ore production expected in 2021. The large-scale, low-cost project will produce replacement tonnes and form a new production hub for Rio in the Pilbara.

The mine would create over 2 000 jobs during construction and 600 permanent operational positions.

Koodaideri is by no means Rio’s first foray into automation; in 2008, the miner unveiled its ‘Mine of the Future’ strategy, which is aimed at automating mining and ore transport across its operations.

Currently, Rio has the largest fleet of driverless trucks in the industry, with some 130 trucks expected to be operational by the end of 2019. While the trucks are operational at the Pilbara iron-ore operations, they are actually controlled from an operations centre in Perth, some 1 500 km away.

The miner also has the world’s first fully automated heavy-haul, long-distance rail network. In fact, in July, Rio reached a significant milestone with the first delivery of iron-ore by an autonomous train in the Pilbara.

The train, comprising three locomotives and carrying about 28 000 t of iron-ore, travelled over 280 km from Rio Tinto’s mining operations in Tom Price to the port of Cape Lambert.

The $940-million AutoHaul programme is focused on automating trains transporting iron-ore to Rio’s port facilities in the Pilbara. When it is commissioned, the network will be the world’s first heavy-haul, long-distance autonomous rail operation.

Rio operates about 200 locomotives on more than 1 700 km of track in the Pilbara, transporting ore from 16 mines to four port terminals. The average return journey for these trains is about 800 km, with each journey cycle, including loading and dumping, lasting about 40 hours.

In addition to the driverless trucks and trains, the nigh 400 staff at Rio’s Perth operations also monitor the seven fully autonomous drill systems, which drill production blast holes across the Pilbara, as well as the drones that are being trialled to measure stockpiles and assist with environmental and maintenance activities.


Fellow diversified giant BHP is also incorporating new technologies into its operations, with the miner operating one of the largest autonomous blast hole drill fleets in the world at its Pilbara iron-ore operations.

BHP started investing in a fully autonomous truck fleet at its Jimblebar mine, in Western Australia, in 2013, with the miner launching the Integrated Remote Operations Centre (IROC) in Perth the same year.

The Pilbara nerve centre comprises the mine fleet management system, train control and fixed plant control systems for mine and port operations, as well as CCTV and radio systems that facilitate communication with remote sites.

The system gives BHP a real-time overview of its total supply chain, which includes more than 1 500 km of rail, a stockyard and two port facilities, enabling the miner to make operational decisions proactively.

In 2016, BHP launched an IROC in Brisbane overseeing its coal operations. The facility provided real-time coverage of its seven joint venture operations with Mitsubishi in the Bowen basin, the Hay Point coal terminal, its own two opencut mines in Queensland and the Mt Arthur coal mine, in New South Wales.

At the end of November last year, the miner flagged a third IROC, this time for its Olympic Dam operation, in South Australia. While the miner has been loath to release any details on the third IROC, this was reportedly being done to realise the enormous potential of the South Australian asset.

BHP earlier flagged plans to spend more than A$600-million on 14 projects across the Olympic Dam operation in 2018, including an underground expansion of the operation at the high-grade Southern Mine area, further underground development of the existing Northern Mine area footprint, as well as a wide range of infrastructure and other programmes.

BHP chief technology officer Diane Jurgens says that, owing to its size, BHP was one of the few companies that could embrace the opportunities that technological transformation in the mining sector could achieve.

“We are adopting this ‘assembly line’ approach in our operations, but, where automotive production lines take place inside a factory, our assembly line can stretch for hundreds or thousands of kilometres across some of the most remote parts of the planet.

“It’s a challenge, and, if we can synchronise our processes along this line, in the same way that a car manufacturer does, that’s truly a game changer for our industry,” Jurgens says.

While automation has been widely deployed within the Australian iron-ore sector, miners facing more complex mining conditions have been slow to embrace the technology.

In July, coal miner Whitehaven Coal made the first foray into automation, striking an agreement with Hitachi to mobilise a fleet of six autonomous trucks at one of the operating pits at its Maules Creek mine, in New South Wales, by 2019.

If the technology proves successful, Whitehaven will introduce the technology throughout its Maules Creek operation.

Analyst Wood Mackenzie principal analyst Brent Spalding notes that, in the Australian coal mining scenario, the productivity improvements brought about by automation would be limited if output from the newly automated operation is not increased or if the cost of labour is not reduced.

“Beyond 2025, there could be more opportunities for driverless trucks through the development of some larger projects in excess of 20-million tonnes a year, which include Glencore`s Wandoan coal project, in the Surat basin, and Adani`s Carmichael, in the Galilee basin.

“These greenfield projects could be more viable, because they represent a clean slate, where the mine plan can be geared towards automation from the start, instead of being retrofitted or changed as the mine develops.

“There could even be a further option for driverless trains, given that the rail infrastructure still needs to be developed for these Queensland coal basins,” Spalding says.

He notes that, for iron-ore miners in the Pilbara, automation has meant higher output levels, because of increased equipment use, less downtime, owing to fewer shift changes and breaks, and a drop in employee absenteeism.

“Safety has also proven to be a key driver of automation. To date, there have been no injuries attributed to autonomous vehicles in the Australian iron-ore sector,” Spalding says.

Iron-ore miner Fortescue introduced autonomous haulage technology at its Solomon Hub operations in 2012 and currently runs a fleet of 70 autonomous trucks at the operation.

This autonomous fleet has resulted in a 30% productivity improvement at Solomon Hub, and the success of the operation has encouraged Fortescue to introduce autonomous trucks at its Christmas Creek operation, with the miner planning to convert some 100 haul trucks at the Chichester Hub into autonomous trucks, making it the first iron-ore operation in the world to have a fully autonomous fleet.

The introduction of automation in the mining sector has brought about an obvious reduction in some traditional roles, but Rio Tinto notes that it has also created demand for new skills.

“Achieving automation’s full potential requires people and technology working hand in hand. This will be our guiding principle as we continue to look for innovative ways to make mining safer, more productive and more sustainable,” the company says.

“As we introduce autonomous technology across the business, we continue to work closely with our employees to develop their career pathways. To date, we have successfully redeployed or upskilled employees [affected] by automation,” Rio’s Salisbury said, at the opening of the Baby Hope deposit, in the Pilbara, in October.

BHP is also working to upskill its workforce, with Jurgens saying the company has made significant investments to promote interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics among learners.

“We are upskilling our workforce for a fundamental change in the jobs mix because that is one of the ways the mining sector can show leadership in a rapidly changing world, including creating a more diverse workforce,” she adds.

The Minerals Council of Australia has called for a shift in Australia’s higher education system, saying that innovative technologies such as automation, drones, robotics and artificial intelligence are changing the face of the modern mining sector and that the future success of the minerals industry will depend on highly skilled and technologically literate experts, including operators, engineers, environmental scientists and geologists.

Since 2000, the industry body has invested more than A$50-million in higher education in the minerals sector, in partnership with universities across the country, to develop a relevant minerals education industry.


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