Leaders from Thiess and its firms MACA and RTL Mining and Earthworks Pty Ltd just lately visited Norton Gold Fields’ Mulgarrie web site in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia the place Thiess, EACON Mining Know-how and Norton Gold Fields Pty Ltd (owned by Zijin Mining Group) are operating an autonomous know-how trial.
The go to was a part of the Thiess World Summit and supplied a possibility to see two Thiess owned Komatsu HD1500 vans, Tom and Jerry, retrofitted with EACON’s ORCASTRA® autonomous know-how – in motion. These are the world’s first Komatsu HD1500s retrofitted with autonomy.
Thiess: “Our leaders skilled a dwell demonstration of the ORCASTRA® CONDUCTOR system and explored the vans up shut. The trial demonstrates how present haul vans will be safely and effectively upgraded with autonomous functionality, providing flexibility and scalability for our purchasers. Thanks to EACON, Zijin Mining and Norton Gold Fields in your collaboration. Collectively, we’re advancing smarter, safer mining to drive our business ahead.”
The trial just lately achieved its first absolutely autonomous haulage check cycle with out a security driver – which Thiess added was one other milestone in the direction of creating sensible, scalable pathways for autonomy in Australian working environments. Jerry was first in late 2025, adopted by Tom finishing drive-by-wire validation in February, after which this unit joined Jerry in autonomous load-haul-dump check cycles. The main target is now on the vans finishing cycles and delivering particular options particular to the Australian mining surroundings in preparation for the manufacturing trial.
EACON acknowledged: “We had been delighted to host 50 leaders from the Thiess World Summit at our Australian retrofit mission, the place they skilled EACON’s autonomous haulage system firsthand. The go to included an ORCASTRA® CONDUCTOR demonstration and a more in-depth have a look at the retrofit know-how enabling present haul vans to transition towards autonomous operations. Thanks to Thiess and Norton Gold Fields Pty Ltd for the chance to share the progress being made on the mission and the potential of retrofit autonomy for the Australian mining business.”
EACON’s autonomous vans have full 360 diploma notion, utilizing a number of LiDARs and forward-, rear- and side-facing cameras to constantly monitor their environment. This allows exact navigation, impediment detection and protected operation in advanced mining environments – together with sustaining dependable consciousness even in poor visible circumstances.
