Pronto’s Post

Paul’s one minute review of the Pronto/Whittle little truck paper. First of all, Mining is dynamic and not all commodities are the same, this paper is for a medium sized copper gold mine using 100t trucks vs 40t trucks. There are some things I like about this, 15k hours for the small truck is pretty spot on, $100k for autonomy seems a little too good to be true. Capital cost for both trucks are light. They haven’t gone over the top with speeds but there isn’t enough detail to say how accurate that is, so I’ll take that at face value except I think the down hill speed for the 100t truck is a little light but overall its ok. There isn’t enough detail on bench height but there is always an increase in drill and blast when going to smaller trucks, and this isn’t indicated here. There is also no mention of the congestion that doubling your excavators may have. The true value is modelled at finishing a year yearly which is down to moving material quicker. So this is very sensitive to movement of ore. With that in mind there a few things I would query, such as the shorter time listed to load smaller trucks, this isn’t necessarily a real. In fact, it may be the opposite. There isn’t any real major flaws in this, the biggest cost issue I see is I simply don’t believe the $100k cost per truck for autonomy. As that is applied to both cases, it cancels each other out. As mentioned this is highly sensitive to material moved at speed, mining congestion in the pit with excavators or traffic congestion could tip it either way. As this is showing NPV return by reducing the time to mine, as opposed to cost per tonne moved, you mess this up in the first year and your behind forever. Autonomy aside, this is ok but there really isn’t much in it between manned 100t and 40t trucks but it’s a good thought piece, I give it the thumbs up. 

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Neat. Autonomous triple road trains, the first of 120 for the Onslow Iron project. Saves the human cost - 120 fewer drivers (or 120 times the number of shifts they run the trucks). And I guess they also have much lower O & M costs than manually-driven trucks as the system optimises the wear and tear. It is interesting that we can have autonomous heavy haul trucks on unguided roads, but we find it too difficult to fully automate our metro trains, which run on fixed tracks. #autonomoustrucks #mining

Scania's smaller autonomous mining trucks go commercial Scania Group says it has started sales of #autonomous #miningtrucks, “opening up for safer, more efficient and more sustainable mining operations.” The realisation of autonomous transport it says is taking a big step forward as #Scania has opened up for orders of the company’s self-driving mining solutions. It is now possible to place orders for Scania’s 40 t autonomous heavy tipper for mining, with the 50 t model to follow shortly afterwards. As a first step, Scania says it will start sales of its autonomous mining solutions in Australia, with first deliveries and start of operation scheduled from 2026. The next market in line will most likely be Latin America, a region where Scania has a significant market presence in the mining segment. “The transition from research and development to the launch of a commercial product is a major milestone for us and for autonomous heavy transport in general. This is the most advanced product Scania has put on the market so far,” says Peter Hafmar, Vice President and Head of #AutonomousSolutions at Scania. Mines have long been seen as one of the most promising environments for autonomous vehicles, as they can contribute to safer working conditions and more efficient operations. Scania says its mining solutions with smaller, civil-class trucks also have overall potential advantages over the industry’s traditional heavy haulage trucks, both in terms of emissions and productivity. By utilising Scania’s #autonomousmining trucks, the overall mining footprint including energy and infrastructure requirements can be reduced, meaning that capital and operating expenses may also be reduced at suitable sites. Scania’s autonomous trucks can also be smoothly fitted into an existing operations set-up in a mine, thanks to their #interoperability with other systems and vehicles. “Another benefit with our solution is that it allows mining companies to more quickly take the next step towards #zeroemission operations. It’s easier to electrify operations with Scania’s autonomous trucks compared with traditional heavy haulage trucks,” says Hafmar. Over the past ten years, Scania has invested heavily in the development of self-driving vehicles. Innovations include applications for hub-to-hub transport on highways as well as autonomous vehicles for confined areas such as mines. Scania’s autonomous tipper truck has been developed in close cooperation between Scania’s R&D department and customers in the mining industry, with extensive testing in the harshest real-life conditions. Specifically, Scania has tested and trialled the trucks extensively in Australia with Rio Tinto including initially at #DampierSalt and latterly at the #Channar #ironore operation. Scania also has a delegation this week at #TheElectricMine 2024 conference at Crown Perth. #electricmine24 #futureofmining #mineofthefuture #rightsizedtrucks

What are some signs you need a performance review and report on your AHS? Operational Inefficiencies: If there's a plateau or decline in the efficiency of autonomous haulage systems, such as increased downtime, stoppages in material transportation, or suboptimal cycle performance leading to longer haulage times or you just need new ideas and rejuvenation it might be time for a performance review. Book an initial meeting today to discuss your company's performance review. #absoluteautonomous #AHS #mining #operations #Australia #autonomous #haulage #performanceoptimisation #consultant

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Tage Idriver autonomous rigid wide-body truck fleet at work in Xinjiang There are now 18 extended-range hybrid #autonomous rigid wide-body #miningtrucks running without a safety monitor in the cabin at China National Coal Group Corp.’s #Biesikuduke open-pit mine in #Xinjiang province. These are ‘new energy’ TG136HA units, which have only recently been launched and were independently designed by #TageIdriver (#踏歌智行) and developed with OEM partner Shandong Lingong Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (SDLG). The Biesikuduke open-pit mine is the only mine producing silicon coal in China – silicon coal has a higher silicon content than other coal types and can be used to produce silicon. Operations are challenging in winter as it is located in a very cold region, with the lowest temperature recorded of -43.6℃. Also operationally is is an inclined coal seam, so is more difficult to mine. Tage Idriver says with the use of the unmanned and new energy mining vehicles, safety of production is reinforced, while the annual costs of fuel and labour will be reduced significantly. The #autonomoushaulage system can greatly reduce the production cost through the operation and maintenance technology covering vehicles’ whole life cycle. It is estimated that the project has to potential to reduce carbon emissions by 1,800 t per year and save millions of yuan in fuel every year, compared with traditional diesel mining vehicles. The TG136HA can carry more than 100 tons, making it one of the largest wide-body mining trucks in China. The extended-range hybrid technology has been adopted to reduce the comprehensive energy consumption by over 30%. A rigid integrated frame makes the vehicle durable and able to handle complex working conditions in mining areas. A high-powered battery allows the truck to carry more and to accelerate faster. While this fleet of trucks uses a #battery and diesel engine hybrid design, Tage Idriver adds that it can customise the truck to also use natural gas, methanol or hydrogen. The company says that the model has been widely welcomed in the Chinese market owing to its flexibility, energy saving and durability. It argues that it is also very suitable for the global mines as it meets demands for carbon emission reduction as well as skilled operator shortages. Currently, Tage Idriver says it is introducing the model to the global market, including but not limited to southeast Asia, South America and Africa. The TG136HA is jointly manufactured by Tage Idriver and SDLG. SDLG is one of the Chinese OEMs actively introducing large-tonnage wide-body mine trucks into the international market, and has also built a world-leading digital intelligent manufacturing plant. On the basis of the TG136HA, the two sides have launched a strategic cooperation in research & development, mining services and market expansion. #futureofmining #mineofthefuture #thelectricmine #AHS

The mining world preparing for the era of autonomous equipment

WAYTOUS showcases CarMo cabless, autonomous & zero emissions truck From December 5 to 8, 2203, Chinese autonomous driving for mining tech company #WAYTOUS (慧拓) had its #cabless, #autonomous & diesel-free powered #CarMo truck on show at the 2023 World 5G Conference in #Zhengzhou, #Henan Province. CarMo is described as a “new energy resources” form of transport equipment with complete independent IP rights. It adds that 95% of the key parts are sourced in China. It also highlights the autonomous loading position flexibility that the lack of cab brings. Its transport efficiency is cited as >10% than that of a human-operated truck, and that compared to an equivalent capacity truck it can reduce #carbonemissions by 1,200 t/y. It also estimates an 81.9% saving in comprehensive energy consumption costs when going uphill during heavy loads. The CarMo can provide a load capacity of 60 t, and the drive system provides a maximum torque of 20,000 Nm, enabling smooth starting under high loads and meeting a maximum climbing rate of 35%. WAYTOUS says its power module can switch between pure #batteryelectric power and #fuelcell #hydrogen power according to different usage scenarios & operational economic needs. The 525 Kwh battery pack allows for longer battery life and can cope with loads in various scenarios. It was back in May 2023 that CarMo was officially launched at a special event in #Ordos, Inner Mongolia, a major coal mining region. The vehicle was a major collaboration between institutes and industry. This includes on one side the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the International Advanced Technology Application Promotion Center, and the #InnerMongolia Research Institute of China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing. On the other are vehicle platform supplier Sunward Group through #SunwardIntelligent, based in #Xingsha, #Changsha County, Hunan Province & the autonomous technology provider WAYTOUS, based in #Zhongke R&D City, #Qingdao. CarMo the partners say has achieved multiple technological breakthroughs in chassis function integration, core control algorithms, and perception and positioning integration. CarMo has three control modes: driverless driving, short-range remote control & remote driving, which can meet the operating needs of multiple scenarios and working conditions. The brains behind CarMo is the WAYTOUS set of safe closed-loop parallel mining operating systems known as #YUGONG. With the support of this parallel mining operating system, vehicle operating status & data changes can be uploaded synchronously in real time, enabling remote monitoring & operation by drivers. In the parallel simulation system, the mining truck simulates 1:1 dangerous working conditions such as meeting cars, following cars, bypassing obstacles & unloading on slopes & conducts all-weather, full-time & full-process tests to verify the #miningtruck safe transportation plan. #futureofmining #autonomoushaulage #ChinaAHS #AHS

What are some signs you need a performance review and report on your AHS? Operational Inefficiencies: If there's a plateau or decline in the efficiency of autonomous haulage systems, such as increased downtime, stoppages in material transportation, or suboptimal cycle performance leading to longer haulage times or you just need new ideas and rejuvenation it might be time for a performance review. Book an initial meeting today to discuss your company's performance review. #absoluteautonomous #AHS #mining #operations #Australia #autonomous #haulage #performanceoptimisation #consultant