Sandvik has introduced AutoMine for trucks, which allows autonomous haulage not only underground but now also on the surface.
According to the company, this is a first for autonomous haulage in underground mining settings.
This is a first for autonomous haulage in underground mining settings
Behind the new capability is a smart handover technology that allows trucks to switch from underground to surface navigation mode in real-time, allowing vehicles to continue through the ramp portal seamlessly to surface to complete the dumping cycle.
For years, mining operations have used Sandvik’s intelligent AutoMine systems for autonomous and unmanned truck haulage.
They help to reduce equipment damage and allow for increased efficiency and fleet utilization, reducing unit costs. They are scalable for different mining applications and can be supervised remotely.
“At Sandvik, we’ve pioneered and delivered autonomous trucks for many years. 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 including both underground and surface sections. These trucks are set to revolutionize the mining industry, bringing significant improvements in mine’s productivity and safety,” Riku Pulli, VP of the automation business unit at Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology, said in a release.
AutoMine connects directly to Sandvik OptiMine, enabling efficient production planning and automatic dispatch of tasks to AutoMine for execution.
The production progress is reported back to OptiMine for real-time visibility of automated and manual operations.
OptiMine also allows equipment and people location tracking, 3D mine visualization and predictive analytics to transform data into actionable insights. Integration with My Sandvik Productivity allows mines to know the real-time status of their fleet.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)