AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES – AUSTRALIA

Autopilot anger over BHP’s robots

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Original article by Matthew Stevens
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 14-Nov-19

Politicians and union leaders responded with somewhat predictable outrage to BHP’s plans to fully automate the fleet of haulage trucks at its Goonyella coal mine in Queensland. However, the move to driverless trucks should not have been a surprise, given that BHP has been actively deploying the technology at its Pilbara iron ore mines in recent years. The BHP Mitsubishi Alliance has also consulted with Goonyella’s workforce and the local community with regard to the automation strategy, while it has committed to creating additional jobs as well as retaining all current employees.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, BM ALLIANCE COAL OPERATIONS PTY LTD, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND

BHP’s robot trucks head to coal mines

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 & 24 : 13-Nov-19

BHP has advised that it will commence the roll-out of driverless haulage trucks at its Goonyella Riverside coal mine in 2020. The resources giant will eventually operate a fleet of 86 autonomous trucks at the mine, but it has stressed that the move will not result in any forced redundancies. BHP already uses driverless trucks at its iron ore mines in the Pilbara, but Goonyella will be the first large-scale use of the technology in the coal sector.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, BM ALLIANCE COAL OPERATIONS PTY LTD, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC

Anglo puts brakes on driverless mine trucks

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 2-Oct-19

Anglo American has opted to overhaul the existing fleet of haulage trucks at its Dawson coal mine in Queensland, rather than replace them with autonomous trucks. A spokeswoman say a feasibility study has concluded that the deployment of autonomous vehicles would not be the best use of capital at present; however, Anglo American may reconsider using driverless trucks when its existing fleet reaches the end of its operational life. At present, Whitehaven is the only Australian coal producer to have committed to the use of autonomous trucks, which are now widely used at iron ore mines in the Pilbara.

CORPORATES
ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Smart trucks for Rio’s future mine

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 8-May-19

WesTrac has secured a deal to supply Rio Tinto’s Koodaideri iron ore mine in the Pilbara with 20 autonomous Caterpillar haulage trucks. The contract, which is said to be worth about $US200m ($285m), also includes four autonomous blast drills and other industrial equipment. WesTrac CEO Jarvas Croome notes that miners are increasingly opting to buy haulage trucks that are autonomous-ready rather than converting them after purchase. Production at Koodaideri is slated to commence in 2021.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WESTRAC HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CATERPILLAR, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Whitehaven to roll out driverless trucks

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 21 : 12-Apr-19

Whitehaven Coal has downgraded its sales expectations for 2018-19 to between 20.5 and 21 million tonnes, compared with previous guidance of 21.5 to 22.5 million tonnes. It follows a three per cent fall in production during the March quarter, with output affected by lower yields at its Maules Creek mine in New South Wales. Meanwhile, Whitehaven has advised that it aims to deploy six autonomous haulage trucks at the Maules Creek mine by October. It will be the first time driverless trucks have been used at an Australian coal mine.

CORPORATES
WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED

Fortescue enters the big tech race

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 24 : 22-Mar-19

Pure-play iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group will establish a research and development centre for self-driving cars in Karratha. Amongst other things, the research facility will undertake a trial of self-driving light vehicles at the Christmas Creek iron ore mine. Fortescue CEO Elizabeth Gaines expects autonomous vehicles to become widely used in both the mining industry and urban areas. Fortescue already operates more than 100 self-driving iron ore haulage trucks in the Pilbara.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, TESLA INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Future lies with autonomous cars: Ghosn

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Original article by Andrew Whire
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 6-Jun-17

Nissan Renault Alliance chairman Carlos Ghosn has rejected suggestions that growth in demand for autonomous and driverless cars will decimate the car industry. It has been claimed that such cars will lead to a significant drop in car ownership as people switch to ride-sharing. However, Ghosn does believe that autonomous cars will comprise a majority of all cars on the road by the end of 2022. He does not forsee much in the way of increased demand for electric cars in Australia without the introduction of government subsidies.

CORPORATES
NISSAN MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED, RENAULT SA, MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION, VOLKSWAGEN AG, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION

Australians want driverless cars – NOW

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Apr-17

A special Roy Morgan Snap SMS Poll has found that 51% of Australian men and 41% of Australian women say they would travel in a driverless car now, for a total of 46% of all Australians. The majority of all age profiles 50 years and under are ready for autonomous vehicles. The poll was conducted on 15 March 2017, in conjunction with the Roy Morgan State of the Nation Report 27 – Focus on Australia’s Automotive Industry.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

State of the Nation 27: Booming Australian Automotive Industry accelerates towards ‘Decade of Upheaval’

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Mar-17

Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine has presented the latest State of the Nation Report in Melbourne with a special Spotlight on the Australian Automotive Industry. The State of the Nation Report looks at the changes underway in the Australian automotive industry and the even bigger changes that are set to impact on every part of the industry throughout the 2020s. 2025 has been identified as a tipping point for the industry as a whole as it faces digital disruption – any automotive players that fail to plan fully for the future involving increased car-sharing, driverless cars, and purely online sales will find it far too hard to catch up to "first-movers" by the time 2025 rolls around.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED