Iron ore price weakens as Australia flags return to sub-$100 prices
Futures dropped for a fourth day in Singapore, to trade about 3% lower for the week.
Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) said on Monday a probe had been launched after one of its autonomous trains in Western Australia derailed on Saturday evening.
The world’s second largest miner said no one was injured in the accident, which involved about 30 wagons of a self-driving iron ore train.
Analysts said the derailment, which took place at 6.30 p.m. about 20 km (12 miles) from Dampier in the Pilbara, had the potential to disrupt Rio Tinto’s exports, but not for long.
“The derailment affected one of the two lines to export ports,” BMO commodities analyst Colin Hamilton wrote. “While it twill potentially affect iron ore transport to port in the coming weeks, we see the company covering its shipments from port stockpiles and thus having less impact on the broader iron ore market.”
This is the second time an autonomous train has failed. In 2018, BHP (ASX: BHP) suspended rail operations in the north of Western Australia after it deliberately derailed a runaway train loaded with iron ore headed for Port Hedland.
Rio Tinto ships iron ore from Dampier port and through Cape Lambert in the northern part of Western Australia.
The company operates about 14,000 ore cars across its Pilbara rail network, each of which can hold an estimated 118 tonnes of iron ore.
2 Comments
Mark
This is why autonomous vehicals just as what occured not Ling ago with another mineral need to at all times have 1 driver with appropriate training and a run down check list on hand as well as being talked through whenever a person needs assistance like fault reporting.
I’ve worked in rail forn10 years so yes unlike internet experts and many managers I actually know what is needed and what happens (worked at a place where wagons would be shunted in to be worked on and due to a radio fault (the company had known about this intermittent fault) communication between the shunt controller and the Loco driver had stopped because of it and as such we had a Loco pushing in wagons with no idea of when to stop etc. This caused some chaos but luckily nobody was harmed (very lucky btw due to the things there and the fact something was on a crane that was pushed backwards as well).
Sorry but while I do support new technology it must be holding hands with old methods as rhey are tried tested and constantly improved over many many decades vs new technology being around only a short time with disregard to the things that can and do happen.
Eg th Loco driver who many years ago jumped off a slow moving train (was too big to stop in time) to save a small child on the tracks who he then grabbed and put into safety and ran back to the train to stop it quite a distance away (this btw was in the news at the time and even a number of years later to reintroduce them after many years.
An autonomous train would have simply gone oflver the child as it either couldn’t have stopped in time or merely considered it a minor obstacle like a dead animal.
So no we need humans sufficiently trained and supported to have some control over these behemoths no matter what a company or tech person thinks (imagine if that were your child on the tracks and then tell me you 100trust autonomous technology).
Ps. Do also realise litterally everything can be hacked and that was proven when a white hacker (called as such as they mean no harm) proved you can hack and control a bunch of teslas according to an article not long ago. Now imagine a black heat hacker getting control of an autonomous train or heavy mobile plant and let’s see what that looks like (oh and if people can hack defence forces and defence companies with all thier higg end cyber security the6 can hack an autonomous train with much less effort)
Rob
Poor mining company, too poor to be able to afford to pay a driver so they need to use more ultimately more expensive automation.