Auto-money changes everything
Staff reporter, 15 December 2011
THE world’s leading supplier of mine production management systems says the recently announced autonomous-truck deal between Rio Tinto and Komatsu is a watershed development for the industry’s burgeoning information technology sector and a harbinger of the new high-tech jobs to come in the mining industry.
US-based Modular Mining Systems’ contribution to parent Komatsu’s Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) includes the supervisory system, operational intelligence, communications infrastructure, operational reporting, and vehicle-interaction safety technologies.
“The system is no longer a research project, but a field-proven commercial product,” said Modular chairman and co-founder Dr James White.
“This is not the end of the journey—it is the beginning of an exciting new phase.”
Modular CEO and president Luiz Steinberg said this week the Komatsu-Modular AHS team had contributed more than “15 years of hard work to help make this product a reality”.
“This breakthrough in mining could not have happened without the widespread collaboration of all partners involved,” he said. “It’s a proud moment for Modular to be affiliated with the world’s leading provider of autonomous haulage.”
HighGrade reported exclusively that the $A750 million-plus deal between Rio Tinto and Komatsu on deployment of at least 150 Komatsu autonomous surface mine dump trucks was easily the biggest compact of its type in the industry’s history (HighGrade, November 3-9, 2011). The big miner said the new trucks would start arriving at its Pilbara iron ore operations in 2012 and, perhaps looking further down the track than that, they could be controlled from its new city-based remote operations centre more than 1500km away in the Western Australian capital, Perth.
Modular describes the operations centre, associated remote monitoring and control, and automation as the most significant IT development in the industry.
Not surprisingly, it regards Rio Tinto as the leading mining industry innovator following what was “perhaps the largest-ever non-military purchase of autonomous equipment”, according to Modular’s vice-president sales and marketing, Michael Lewis.
“We envision [in future] a more integrated, holistic approach to managing assets – equipment, people, and processes – throughout a mine, with a focus on production, but also on costs and safety,” Lewis told HighGrade Mining IT. And as highlighted by Modular technology and innovation manager Lucas van Latum at a recent mining technology conference in Western Australia, “we see an increase in the industry of goal-oriented approaches to automating business processes and decision making”.
Rio Tinto’s AHS at the Yandicoogina iron ore mine in WA is expected to be fully operational by early 2012. Modular says it will assist in the implementation at Yandicoogina mine, which is deploying a new fleet of Komatsu 930E-AT autonomous haul trucks in addition to the test fleet relocated from Rio Tinto’s West Angelas mine, where it has been operating since December 2008.
Thirty-two-year-old Modular had a record year in 2011 in terms of overall revenue and growth, Lewis said. The company remained “very optimistic” about future expansion.
“Modular’s growth is coming equally from new mines implementing our systems, and expansion of our solution ranges at existing customers,” Lewis said. “Our position within the Komatsu and Rio Tinto autonomous agreement is also a major reason for optimism towards future growth.
Also in the December 15 - 21, 2011 edition
- AFRICA
- Eritrea risk narrows Zara field
- ASIA DESK
- Not all good as gold in China
- AUSTMINE
- MST buys Nixon Communications
- BREAKING NEWS
- Abenab progress for Avonlea
- Alara advances
- Alcoa declares divi
- Alcyone search boost
- Better news for St Barb
- Black Fire complies
- Bu Dun Hua copper
- Chief sees higher rating for Endeavour
- Cockatoo extension
- Impala sacks drillers
- Industrea win
- Kingston shines
- Maiden Rosie resource
- More Bass trouble
- More concerns on uranium supply
- Nany option exercised
- Newcrest output up
- Palito reassessment
- Pegasus finds copper
- PGM output up
- Radar on track
- Redhill expands holding
- Rio in control
- River attraction for Silver Lake
- Southern Cross ready to move forward
- Stonehenge sets sights high
- Straits gain
- Strategic permit
- Tanoyan update for Reliance
- Trafford's exploration boost
- Two Rivers death
- Ventnor copper hits
- WA uranium policy
- West Rand mines to merge
- Windfall at lake
- Winmar attracts investor
- Yellowhead on track
- CENTRAL ASIA
- Can miners really side-step a war?
- COAL
- Mardon's new year wish
- CONSULTING
- Consultants see room to grow in 2012
- Lory leads SKM mining into new growth phase
- CONTRACTING
- Contracting briefs: Redpath, Thiess, Decmil
- FINANCE
- A golden path to Dubbo development
- Copper deficit a fixture for the future
- Kagara opts for safety first
- Money’s almost too tight to mention
- Terramin view expected to become clearer
- FORUM
- How the JORC and Valmin codes work
- More must buy into JORC discussion
- FROM THE CAPITAL
- Capital management will be key 2012 theme
- GOLD
- Loyal to the cause
- Upside seen despite Teranga downslide
- HEAVY METAL
- Atlas Copco expands mining range
- ISSUES
- State-run miners: best of a bad bunch
- MINING
- Independence gloom unwarranted
- MINING INTELLIGENCE
- 'tis the season (still) to be wary
- MINING IT
- Innovation is the new black
- IT notebook: ARANZ Geo, Immersive Technologies
- IT notebook: Devex receives certification
- IT optimists
- Mining IT: 2011 rebooted
- Mining IT: product releases to fill 2012 calendar
- XPAC to lead dynamic software revival
- PEOPLE
- People on the move: Gindalbie Metals, Abcourt Mines, Carbon Energy
- SOUTH AMERICA
- Chili backers like its prospects
- VIEW FROM THE WEST END
- Bitten on the bum by a Black Swan
