Anglo American Partners with Autonomous Solutions to Develop Unmanned Mining Vehicles

By Caroline Rees / 17 Dec 2014
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Anglo American Autonomous Haulage Vehicle

Anglo American Autonomous Haulage Vehicle

Anglo American has announced that it has entered into partnership with Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (ASI). The goal of the multi-year relationship is to deliver enhanced productivity, sustainability, and safety through mining vehicle automation systems for the company’s haulage operations. The joint effort is part of Anglo American’s FutureSmartâ„¢ initiative through which the company is partnering with third party technology groups like ASI to drive innovation within the mining industry.

Facing challenges such as lower commodity prices, declining grades of ore deposits, and difficulty of access to ore bodies, the mining industry “needs to leap forward twenty years in five,” said Tony O’Neill, Anglo American’s Group Director for Technical and Sustainability, at the Dassault Systemes 3DExperience Forum in November. To help drive this innovation, Anglo American is working with ASI automation engineers to create fully autonomous, teleoperated, and remote control haulage operations.

“Anglo American is at the forefront of innovation in the mining industry and they have been the ideal partner in creating disruptive mining solutions,” said President and CEO of ASI, Mel Torrie. As Anglo American’s OEM-independent automation partner, ASI leverages more than fourteen years of experience developing robotic solutions for the mining, farming, automotive, industrial, and military industries. Development and testing of the autonomous mining systems have already commenced with active field trials with Anglo American and at ASI’s new 100 acre mining proving ground in northern Utah.

Posted by Caroline Rees Caroline co-founded Unmanned Systems Technology and has been at the forefront of the business ever since. With a Masters Degree in marketing Caroline has her finger on the pulse of all things unmanned and is committed to showcasing the very latest in unmanned technical innovation. Connect & Contact