Rio Tinto has struck a charter agreement with Hitachi Construction Machinery to develop remote operation technologies for ultra-large hydraulic excavators, marking the next five years as a period of close-knit collaboration that began in Western Australia.
Technological Resources Limited, a Melbourne subsidiary of Rio Tinto, signed the contract in Tokyo yesterday (8 October) in a move to support the next generation of mining operations that include operator assist, remote operation, and partial autonomy of digging and loading for ultra-large hydraulic excavators.
Hitachi vice president and executive officer mining business unit Hiroshi Kanezawa said that since entering the business in the late 1970s, the Hitachi Construction Machinery Group has “driven technology innovation” for ultra-large hydraulic excavators in the industry.
He said the new concept LANDCROS embodied Hitachi’s aim to design reliable and open solutions for customers.
“Under this concept, we are confident that open collaboration with Rio Tinto, which has extensive expertise in mining operations, will accelerate the development of highly versatile autonomous operation technologies for the benefit of the whole mining industry,” Kanezawa said.
According to Hitachi, prioritising safety and productivity is essential at mine sites where continuous operation is required around the clock. It said the adoption of remote operation technologies for ultra-large hydraulic excavators represented a significant step towards these goals.
The collaboration will see Hitachi Construction Machinery develop remote operation technologies, while Rio Tinto looks to deploy the excavators equipped with various technologies to excavate, provide operational data, and provide feedback at sites in the Pilbara region.
Partial autonomy functions will enable operators to instruct the system on the initial digging position and the dump truck loading position to automatically repeat a series of subsequent operations.
Hitachi’s LANDCROS concept (which combines ‘land’ and the company’s abbreviated goals ‘CROS’) underwent durability tests of its enhanced boom and arm for the ultra-hydraulic excavators at Pilbara sites in August 2023. In March 2024, the operator assist system was used in a verification test of digging and loading tasks, also in the Pilbara region.
“The two companies will continue to partner to establish highly versatile technologies through tests under diverse site conditions,” Hitachi said.
The company added that the charter agreement has expanded the efforts both it and Rio Tinto have dedicated to the development around the ultra-large hydraulic excavators.
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