The Solomon Hub Kings iron mine, located in the Australian region Pilbara and managed by the company Fortescue Metals Group, has a new fleet of autonomous trucks installed by Caterpillar.

The two companies signed a deal back in July, which included the complete MineStar technology suite, in order to modernize the operation. At the time, Caterpillar’s vice president, Chris Curfman, said that:

This collaboration will positively impact sustainability at Fortescue’s Solomon mine through a reduced environmental footprint and machine efficiencies.

After the installation of the technology and vehicles at the Firetail mine, it was time to deal with the second phase of the automation process and implement the same system at Fortescue’s Kings mine.

For now, eight “command for hauling” Cat 793F CMD trucks have started operations at the site, but the fleet will be expanded to 45 autonomous trucks over the next years. Leighton Contractors, responsible for this $2.8 billion contract for Kings, will operate the trucks. Chris Curfman stated that:

Caterpillar is pleased to team with Fortescue and Leighton Contractors for the operations of our autonomous mining solution.

Working with all the partners, we look forward to managing the entire Cat MineStar System suite of technology products at Solomon in order to drive process efficiency, increase productivity and enhance safety. The Solomon project is an excellent fit for our progression to the next level of technology and sustainable mining–with the ultimate goal of delivering greater value for our customers.

Once in full operation, the Solomon mine will have a workforce of around 1200 people. According to Hans Haefeli, Caterpillar’s advanced components and systems division vice president:

Fortescue’s Solomon mine is the first project of its kind for Caterpillar. Utilising the entire Cat MineStar System suite of surface mining technologies, both autonomous and manned machines are producing iron ore from two mines at Solomon.The depth and breadth of the Cat precision technology, coupled with skilled control personnel, is designed to enable the dual fleet to work safely and efficiently and to reach production goals quickly.

Via miningaustralia.com.au