Scania and Rio Tinto trial autonomous truck

Scania has teamed up with mining giant Rio Tinto to trail an autonomous transport solution at a Western Australian mine.

The autonomous Scania XT 8x4 tipper has been in use at Rio Tinto's Dampier Salt operations since August, and has a driver on board to monitor the truck's progress and intervene if necessary.

Scania says more trucks will be added to the trial for further develop "vehicle-vehicle awareness and intelligent fleet supervisory control".

Rio Tinto head of Productivity & Technical Support, Rob Atkinson, said the technology was opening up new horizons for its operations.

"We're pleased to be trialling this technology in trucks that are smaller than our traditional haul trucks," he said.

"This has the potential to give us more flexibility in the way we operate in a number of areas across Rio Tinto. We have seen automation create safer and more efficient operations in our business and this is a next step in evaluating options for delivering further improvements through the use of technology."

Björn Winblad, Head of Scania Mining said the trial served as an ideal theatre in which to further develop autonomous vehicle technology.

"Mining sites, given their high vehicle utilisation rates, are ideal for testing new autonomous technology," he said.

"The industry can reap the safety and productivity benefits of automation, and the experience gained here will be instrumental in developing fully autonomous solutions for other transport applications.

"It is very encouraging to note that the truck has been performing in a safe manner and in accordance with expectations with regards to the operations."

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Rio Tinto has pioneered the use of automation in the mining industry, with the largest fleet of driverless trucks, the world's first fully autonomous heavy-haul, long-distance rail network, and fully autonomous production drills.