Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology has launched AutoMine for Trucks, an industry first for autonomous ramp haulage in underground mines.
The AutoMine system allows for unmanned truck haulage, reducing equipment damage and repair work while bringing high efficiency levels for a lower cost per tonne.
It has also unlocked the capability to operate trucks not just underground, but also in surface mining operations.
The core innovation behind AutoMine for Trucks is the smart handover technology, which enables trucks to switch from underground to a surface work mode in real time.
Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology vice president, Automation business unit, Riku Pulli said the release of AutoMine for Trucks endorsed Sandvik as being an industry leader in automation and technology.
“Continuously setting the industry standard, we have now developed the industry-first fully autonomous underground trucks that can operate in mining levels and mine declines,” Pulli said.
“These trucks are set to revolutionise the mining industry, bringing significant improvements in (the) mine’s productivity and safety.”
For operators’ convenience, AutoMine can connect to Sandvik OptiMine, which enables efficient production planning and automatic task dispatching for execution.
The progress is reported back to OptiMine, giving mines real-time updates of both automated and manual operations.
Other OptiMine benefits include equipment and people location tracking, three-dimensional visualisation and predictive analysis to transform data into actions.
This allows operators to accurately monitor maintenance schedules and keep track of their fleet’s condition in real time.