Rio Tinto welcomes 300th Komatsu autonomous haulage truck at Pilbara operations, WA

Komatsu has delivered its 300^th autonomous haulage system (AHS) truck to the global mining giant, Rio Tinto's Pilbara operations in Western Australia, marking an important milestone for mining automation. This achievement marks the continuation of a long-standing partnership between the two industry giants, which began with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2011 to deploy 150 AHS trucks.

Thirteen years later, the collaboration remains robust, with both Rio Tinto and Komatsu committed to accelerating the adoption of automation in mining operations. This latest addition to Rio Tinto's fleet underscores the company's ongoing efforts to enhance efficiency and safety through advanced technology.

Garry Povah, Komatsu Australia's General Manager of Mining Automation, said, “We’ve led the industry in mining automation since 2008 when we commenced the Rio Tinto trial.”

“We delivered the first five AHS trucks to Rio mine sites in Australia in 2011, and it’s incredible to see how much the business has embraced this technology over the years, helping to make their mines safe and also highly productive."

"AHS trucks are a crucial solution to both mine safety and addressing labour shortages in the sector."

“By removing human operators from potentially hazardous environments, AHS trucks significantly reduce the risk of accident and injury while enabling continuous operation that considerably impacts site productivity."

“The AHS fleet at Rio Tinto sites have completed 8.9 million operating hours and have moved over 4.8 billion tonnes of material – all while improving their sites effective utilisation by 15 per cent – a remarkable feat.”

Currently, Rio Tinto's 300 autonomous haulage system (AHS) trucks are distributed across 10 of their Australian mine sites, contributing to around 80 per cent of the company's daily production capacity.

Jamie Sanders, Rio Tinto's Global Head of Procurement, said, “This significant milestone is an excellent example of the partnership approach that Rio Tinto takes with its suppliers."

“Komatsu is a fantastic partner that has helped us improve our operations from a health, safety, and efficiency perspective."

“From the initial trial in 2008 to the work we do with Komatsu today, they have played a major role in helping us accelerate the automation of our mining processes. We look forward to continuing our collaboration into the future.”