Rio Tinto autonomous train makes first delivery 280 km away
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mining major Rio Tinto has delivered its first iron-ore delivery by autonomous train from the Tom Price mine, to the Port of Cape Lambert, some 280 km away.
The autonomous train consisted of three locomotives and carried about 28 000 t of ore. The train was monitored remotely by operators in Rio’s Operations Center, in Perth, more than 1 500 km away.
“The safe first delivery of iron-ore by an autonomous train is a key milestone for AutoHaul. The programme will deliver the world’s first fully autonomous, long-distance, heavy-haul rail network, operating the world’s largest and longest robots,” said Rio iron-ore MD for rail, port and core services, Ivan Vella.
“This programme symbolises both the pioneering spirit and innovative talents of many people across Rio Tinto and shows our absolute commitment to improving safety and productivity, as well as enabling greater flexibility across our operations.”
The inaugural journey followed regulatory approval in May, with Rio saying on Friday its $940-million AutoHaul programme was on schedule to be completed by the end of the year. The system is expected to unlock significant safety and productivity gains for the miner, as well as optimising its iron-ore system by providing more flexibility and reducing bottlenecks.
The miner operates some 200 locomotives on more than 1 700 km of track in the Pilbara, transporting iron-ore from 16 mines to four port terminals.
“We will continue to ensure our autonomous trains operate safely under the wide range of conditions we experience in the Pilbara, where we record more than eight-million kilometers of train travel each year.
“We are working closely with drivers during this transition period as we prepare our employees for new ways of working as a result of automation,” said Vella.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Rooted in the hearts of South Africans, combining technology and a quest for perfection to bring you a battery of peerless standing. Willard...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Booyco Electronics, South African pioneer of Proximity Detection Systems, offers safety solutions for underground and surface mining, quarrying,...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
