ASI Mining, in conjunction with its distributor Epiroc, has received an order from Roy Hill Iron Ore to automate 18 Hitachi EH4000 haul trucks to be integrated with its current autonomous haulage fleet in Western Australia. The additional trucks will increase Roy Hill’s fleet to a total of 96 haul trucks which, once converted to autonomous operation, will make Roy Hill the largest single autonomous haulage system (AHS) site in the world.
Once the entire fleet of 96 haul trucks is autonomous, it will boast not only being the largest AHS fleet at a single site, but also the first site operating four different model variants from two different truck OEMs.
The EH4000 fleet is being added to expand production capacity at Roy Hill’s mining operations. These new trucks will join an existing fleet of Caterpillar 793F (models SSP and CMD) and Hitachi EH5000 haul trucks, in the process of being converted to autonomous trucks at the site.
The AHS project at Roy Hill commenced its fleet expansion phase in January 2023, following completion of a two year validation period. It is anticipated all 96 of Roy Hill’s trucks will be fitted out by the end of 2024.
ASI Mining’s Mobius AHS has been operating successfully 24/7 in a dedicated autonomous operating zone (AOZ) since July 2021, with Roy Hill achieving performance targets with a smaller fleet of 793Fs and EH5000 haul trucks.
“The receipt of this expansion order from Roy Hill signals their continued commitment to OEM agnostic autonomy and their continued trust in ASI Mining and Epiroc,” said Diederik Lugtigheid, President of ASI Mining.
