Mining giant Rio Tinto says its AutoHaul autonomous train project is now fully deployed in WA’s Pilbara region.
The company has for some time been working on making its mine-to-port iron ore railway fully autonomous, and made great strides in 2018 with the first loaded journey made in July.
Rio Tinto Iron Ore managing director of rail, port and core services Ivan Vella said with more than 1 million kilometres now travelled autonomously, AutoHaul had demonstrated it could move product in a controlled and safe manner.
“The safe and successful deployment of AutoHaul across our network is a strong reflection of the pioneering spirit inside Rio Tinto,” Vella said. “It’s been a challenging journey to automate a rail network fo this size and scale in a remote location like the Pilbara.”
Rio says it will continue to refine AutoHaul operations in coming months.