AUTOMATION – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

BHP puts foot down on robotic truck drive

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 19 : 27-May-19

BHP may ramp up its deployment of autonomous haulage truck at its iron ore and coal mines in Australia. BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue now operate about 250 automated trucks at their iron ore mines in the Pilbara, and BHP recently said that most of its fleet could potentially be automated by 2023. Its fleet at the Jimblebar mine has been fully automated since 2017, and BHP executive Rag Udd notes that this has resulted in significant safety and productivity improvements. He stresses that such factors are driving the automation push, rather than job cuts, adding that many former truck drivers have been redeployed.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Rio revs up driverless truck plan

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Original article by Matt Chambers, Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 8-Jun-18

Rio Tinto employs about 12,000 people at its iron ore operations in the Pilbara, and its automation program is not expected to have any net effect on job numbers. An internal briefing from late 2016 flagged the loss of about 850 jobs over four years as a result of initiatives such as its AutoHaul project. However, Rio Tinto has advised that the figures have since been revised to take into account the retraining and redeployment of existing staff and the need to hire additional employees for new mining projects.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, THE MELBOURNE MINING CLUB, ALPHABETA, NATIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES AUSTRALIA, METS IGNITED

Robo trains cut Rio’s iron ore journey time by 20pc

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 15-May-18

Rio Tinto has advised that a project to automate its iron ore trains in the Pilbara should be completed and receive regulatory approval by the end of 2018. Rio Tinto executive Steve McIntosh has told a conference in Sydney that about 65 per cent of its trains are currently running in autonomous mode with a driver on board, and the automated trains can arrive at the port about 20 per cent faster than regular trains. The AutoHaul project has been marred by delays and cost over-runs.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ANSALDO STS, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Trains give Rio’s iron ore unit a push

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 19-Apr-18

Rio Tinto has advised that its Pilbara iron ore shipments totalled 80.3 million tonnes in the March 2018 quarter, which is 11 per cent lower than the December quarter but five per cent higher year-on-year. The resources group still expects shipments for the full year to be within the range of 330 million and 340 million tonnes. Rio Tinto has also advised that it expects the AutoHaul autonomous train project to be completed in 2018, and says the proportion of trains that are operating in autonomous mode rose from 60 per cent to 65 per during the quarter.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, QUEENSLAND ALUMINA LIMITED, RUSAL

Rio iron ore mines shielded from potential US tariffs

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 8-Mar-18

Rio Tinto has advised that the automation of its haulage trucks will result in the loss of 200 jobs at its Brockman 4 and Marandoo iron ore mines in the Pilbara. The technology will also be rolled out at the West Angelas mine. Chris Salisbury, the CEO of Rio Tinto’s iron ore division, says 25 per cent of the company’s fleet has been automated to date. He adds that the steel tariff policy of President Donald Trump is unlikely to affect demand for iron ore from the Pilbara, as a small proportion of the steel output of Rio Tinto’s Asian customers is exported to the US.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Big gains from small Pilbara changes

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 19-Sep-16

The Gina Rinehart-backed Roy Hill iron ore project shipped its first iron ore from the Pilbara in late 2015. The use of technology is a key feature of the $A10bn project. Amongst other things, it uses drones to undertake surveying work, and it is trialling automated truck refuelling technology. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have deployed driverless trucks at their Pilbara mines, but Roy Hill Holdings Barry Fitzgerald says the company does not think the technology has a sufficient cost benefit.

CORPORATES
ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL