Posted by Paul Moore on eighth October 2024
Thiess and main autonomous haulage options agency EACON Mining throughout MINExpo 2024 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to ship OEM-agnostic autonomous know-how and advance decarbonisation within the mining trade.
The businesses stated that the MoU “paves the way in which for us to supply extra sustainable, environment friendly, and safer mining options to its shoppers globally by EACON’s experience in autonomous driving know-how and electrical and hybrid truck engineering, whereas EACON has the chance to conduct early manufacturing trials at Thiess’ Australian and worldwide mining operations.”
Thiess Group Govt Chair and CEO Michael Wright stated: “Thiess has been concerned with the supply of autonomous mining providers since 2013 and we’re wanting ahead to exploring EACON’s OEM-agnostic autonomous options. These have the potential to scale back the numerous capital expenditure barrier to autonomous haulage by enabling the cost-efficient conversion of standard fleet to full autonomy.”
He added: “We’re additionally keen on EACON’s hybrid and electrical truck know-how, given our international 1,200-strong haul truck fleet and dedication to decarbonising our operations. We stay up for leveraging EACON’s progressive autonomy and electrification options to supply lower-emissions mining to our shoppers, lots of whom are on the journey to web zero by 2050.”
EACON Mining Australia COO Elaine Jin said: “Partnering with Thiess marks a major development in our international growth. Our autonomous and sustainable mining options are at the moment working in additional than 500 dump vehicles throughout 13 mines. We’re assured that providing our cutting-edge autonomous haulage system will improve Thiess’ effectivity and have an instantaneous influence on enhancing fleet security and gasoline effectivity.”
Thiess and EACON’s collaboration will kick off with identification of appropriate Thiess mining operations to start the trials of EACON applied sciences. Along with Australia, Thiess has lively floor mining contracts in Chile, the US, Indonesia, Canada and Mongolia.
The transfer follows an identical settlement with Thiess-owned mining providers firm MACA, signed throughout The Electrical Mine 2024 convention in Perth – actively pursuing the event and importation of battery electrical mining vehicles and hybrid battery mining vehicles into the Australian market. These vehicles manufactured by completely different OEMs shall be embedded with EACON new power methods, drive by wire methods, autonomous capabilities and can conform to regional requirements/rules. That collaborative effort constructed upon the muse laid with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the finish of 2023.
Elaine Jin instructed IM that the most recent settlement with Thiess as a bunch is critical as a result of it’s worldwide – so contains not solely Australia but in addition different nations – she added that trials are set to begin quickly although no particulars have been given but on the situation or commodity kind.
The transfer additionally implies that Thiess from its aspect will have the ability to deliver a really diversified providing to its worldwide shoppers. This contains OEM-driven AHS, which has been utilized on the Pembroke Assets Olive Downs coal challenge the place Thiess is utilizing Caterpillar 794 vehicles and Cat Command for hauling. Or within the case of EACON Mining, it brings an OEM-agnostic AHS providing, that may be utilized on a spread of truck courses and kinds and types, which supplies lots of flexibility for shoppers who need that, together with flexibility with the fleet administration system (FMS) that the AHS is integrating with.
The usage of smaller broad physique truck courses as much as across the 110-120 t payload, probably in larger numbers as a substitute for bigger class inflexible vehicles, additionally presents an early entry for shoppers into battery electrical or hybrid fleet operation, as EACON Mining is already properly skilled with this at a number of operations, although its autonomy know-how utility just isn’t restricted to smaller vehicles and it has growth initiatives in place for bigger inflexible vehicles as properly. EACON Mining additionally has shut relationships with a spread of Chinese language truck OEMs together with Tonly, Yutong, LGMG and others.
