PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Iron-ore major Fortescue Metals has marked a milestone with its autonomous haul fleet, having moved two-billion tonnes of material.

Fortescue was the first in the world to deploy Caterpillar’s autonomous haulage technology on a commercial scale at its Solomon Hub operations in 2012, and the multi-class fleet has since expanded across the company’s Pilbara operations with a total of 193 autonomous trucks now in operation. 

“Fortescue is a leader in the implementation of autonomous haulage across our iron-ore operations. Our fleet represents one of the largest in the world, with 79 trucks currently in operation at Solomon, 74 at Christmas Creek and 40 at Cloudbreak,” said CEO Elizabeth Gaines.

“Moving over two-billion tonnes of material without a driver at the wheel is a significant milestone and a reflection of Fortescue’s ongoing commitment to increasing operational efficiency through technology and innovation. 

“Most importantly, the introduction of autonomous haul technology has led to significant safety improvements for our team members, with our fleet safely travelling over 70-million kilometres to date, the equivalent of 91 return trips to the moon,” Gaines said. 

She noted that the continued expansion of autonomous capability across the business had demonstrated that autonomy did not need to be at the expense of jobs, with the transition to autonomous haulage providing significant new opportunities for Fortescue’s workforce through the provision of training and redeployment to new roles. 

“Significantly, the adoption of autonomous haulage has allowed us to relocate many traditional site-based roles to our integrated operations centre in Perth, providing opportunities for parents and women in particular to remain engaged in our workforce. Today, almost 50% of our workforce in the Fortescue Hive are women.”