Rio Tinto to Control Automated Mine-to-Port System from 1,300 Kilometers Away

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The main motivators driving Rio Tinto's (London) integrated and automated "mine of the future" are the creation of greater efficiencies, lower production costs and more attractive working conditions that will help the company retain staff in the highly competitive labor market. The mining and transport system that the company is installing at its Pilbara iron ore mine in Western Australia will use Komatsu's autonomous haulage system (KAHS) and will be commissioned before the end of 2008. This will be followed by the installation of the system at Rio Tinto's other ore-mining operations.

Mining operations will be controlled from Perth, about 1,300 kilometers away from the mine, and driverless trains will carry the iron ore along the greater part of 1,200 kilometers of rail track. "Intelligent" drills will be controlled from a remote-operations center, which is to be built near Perth's domestic airport. The center is expected to be complete by 2009 and house more than 320 employees. They will work with Pilbara-based colleagues to oversee, operate and optimize the use of key assets and processes, including all mines, processing plants, the rail network, ports and power plants. The center will also run operational planning and scheduling functions. Remote control of trains, drills and trucks will be operational this year. The autonomous train-operations technology for heavy-haul capacity is undergoing trials and will be the first full operation run from the center.

A KAHS-controlled fleet of off-highway, driverless 320-ton trucks will be commissioned by the end of the year, and the system will be implemented at other ore mines by 2010. Development on autonomous drilling rigs began in 2006, and custom-designed rigs are now in use at the mine. Other advanced remote control and autonomous technologies are being used and evaluated with the KAHS.

In early 2007, Rio Tinto established and funded the Rio Tinto Center for Mine Automation in partnership with the University of Sydney, securing exclusive access to world-renowned robotics experts dedicated to creating opportunities for the company's "mine of the future." The company is looking to take annual iron ore production to more than 600 million tons.

CEO Tom Albanese said the company has at least three years' start on the rest of the industry, which has focused on discrete technologies rather than modernizing the whole mine-to-port operation. "We are aiming to be the global leaders in fully integrated, automated operations," he said. "It will allow for more efficient operations and directly confront the escalating costs associated with basing employees at remote sites, giving us a competitive advantage as an employer along the way."

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