Komatsu and Rio Tinto celebrate 300th AHS delivery

Komatsu and Rio Tinto initially signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2011 to deploy 150 AHS trucks to the Rio Tinto site, and 13 years later the partnership is still strong, with both companies looking to accelerate the pace of mining automation.

Garry Povah, Komatsu Australia’s General Manager – Mining Automation said this milestone gives both organisations the opportunity to reflect on the success of this ground-breaking partnership.

“We’ve led the industry in mining automation since 2008, when we commenced the Rio Tinto trial. We delivered the first five AHS trucks to Rio mine sites in Australia in 2011, and it’s incredible to see how much the business has embraced this technology over the years, helping to make their mines safe, and also highly productive.

“AHS trucks are a crucial solution to both mine safety and addressing labour shortages in the sector. By removing human operators from potentially hazardous environments, AHS trucks significantly reduce the risk of accident and injury, and while enabling continuous operation that considerably impacts site productivity,” Garry commented.

“The AHS fleet at Rio Tinto sites have completed 8.9 million operating hours and have moved over 4.8 billion t of material – all while improving their site’s effective utilisation (EU) by 15% – a remarkable feat.”

Currently, the 300 AHS trucks are spread across 10 of Rio Tinto’s Australian mine sites, and contribute to approximately 80% of their daily production capacity.

Jamie Sanders, Rio Tinto’s Global Head of Procurement, added, “This significant milestone is an excellent example of the partnership approach that Rio Tinto takes with its suppliers.

“Komatsu is a fantastic partner that has helped us improve our operations from a health and safety, and efficiency perspective. From the initial trial in 2008 to the work we do with Komatsu today, they have played a major role in helping us accelerate the automation of our mining processes. We look forward to continuing our collaboration into the future,” Jamie said.

The 300^th delivery was marked with a special ‘Daruma doll’ ceremony, a Japanese ritual where one eye of the doll is painted to symbolise the setting of a goal and the beginning of a journey. Once the goal is successfully achieved, the second eye is painted.

“The Daruma doll ceremony is symbolic of perseverance, determination, and achievement. We held the initial ceremony when the MoU was signed in 2011, and it was very special to be able to celebrate the achievement of our partnership this year with the painting of the other eye. It gave us a moment to not only reflect on how much has been achieved, but also to look towards the future as we continue to partner together on sustainable solutions for our industry,” Garry concluded.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/12082024/komatsu-and-rio-tinto-celebrate-300th-ahs-delivery/