Caterpillar reaches milestone with autonomous haul trucks

Caterpillar hauled 2.2 billion tons using Cat MineStar Command for hauling, doubling the amount hauled in the 16 months since November 2018. Photo: Caterpillar

Autonomous hauling technology continues to captivate the attention of the mining industry, and a progress report from Caterpillar shows just how far the tech has come.

Cat recently reached the 2.2 billion tons hauled mark using Cat MineStar Command, doubling the amount hauled in the 16 months since reaching 1 billion tons in November 2018.

“In just a bit over six years we’ve safely hauled 2 billion tons – a milestone we achieved significantly faster than our competitors,” says Sean McGinnis, product manager at MineStar Solutions. “This milestone makes Command for hauling the most productive commercially available solution, and it’s something mining people are noticing.”

While autonomous haulers are present in large mining operations as opposed to aggregate, it is anticipated that the technology will someday trickle down to crushed stone, sand and gravel operations and become a new opportunity for producers.

Cat continues to launch Command on more sites, McGinnis adds, and the technology is being implemented more quickly now versus when the technology commercially launched in 2013. So more Cat customers are experiencing the safety and productivity gains that autonomous hauling delivers, he says.

McGinnis largely credits Cat customers for the success of Command for hauling.

“One of the reasons Caterpillar has been so successful in expanding Command and delivering results is because we listen to and partner with our customers,” he says. “They identify features, functionality and even the autonomous truck models they need for their operations.”

Over the last six years, MineStar Solutions has even applied autonomous technology beyond hauling, including in dozers, drills and underground loaders.

To date, Cat says it has 276 autonomous trucks in operation.

“The push toward autonomous mining doesn’t show any signs of slowing,” McGinnis says. “We have projects in the works with a number of large mining companies either looking to expand their current autonomous haulage operations or implement new ones.”

Cat’s autonomous fleet is made up of Cat 789D, 793D, 793F and 797F trucks, as well as a fleet of Komatsu 930Es. The 794 AC electric-drive autonomous truck will be ready for autonomous haulage later this year, Cat adds.

Also, Command-equipped trucks have driven more than 42 million miles without a lost-time injury, Cat says.

“Command for hauling has proven its value to mining customers,” McGinnis says. “That value is reflected in the rate at which the Cat autonomous fleet achieved this milestone. The fleet is growing quickly and production continues to climb as mining companies benefit from greater truck productivity, increased truck utilization, consistent truck operation and reduced costs.”