Sandvik AutoMine for Trucks is a first for autonomous ramp haulage applications in the underground mining industry, providing autonomous truck haulage not only in underground environments but now also on the surface. It turns Sandvik’s intelligent mining trucks into unmanned robots, robots that keep running.
For years, mining operations across the world have benefitted from Sandvik’s intelligent AutoMine systems for autonomous and unmanned truck haulage. They help to reduce equipment damage, repair work and add the highest levels of efficiency and fleet utilization, giving a lower cost per ton. They are scalable for different mining applications and can be supervised from remote locations.
In December 2019 a sneak peek of the product was introduced at the Digitalization in Mining event in Brisbane, Australia.
“At Sandvik, we’ve pioneered and delivered autonomous trucks for many years. Continuously setting the industry standard we have now developed the industry-first, fully autonomous underground trucks that can operate in mining levels and mine declines including both underground and surface sections. These trucks are set to revolutionize the mining industry, bringing significant improvements in mine’s productivity and safety,” said Riku Pulli, Vice President, BU Automation, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology.
A key requirement for an autonomous ramp haulage application is to enable the capability for trucks to operate autonomously not only underground but also on the surface. With this product release, Sandvik has unlocked this capability for its customers. A core innovation behind the new capability is the smart handover technology that allows trucks to switch from underground to surface navigation mode in real-time. This allows trucks to continue through the ramp portal seamlessly to the surface to complete the dumping cycle.
AutoMine also connects directly to Sandvik OptiMine, enabling efficient production planning and automatic dispatching of tasks to AutoMine for production execution. The progress of production tasks is reported back to OptiMine giving mines real-time visibility of their automated and manual operations and enabling them to make informed decisions on their operation. Other benefits of OptiMine include equipment and people location tracking, 3D Mine Visualization, and predictive analytics to transform data into actionable insights. Integration with My Sandvik Productivity allows mines to keep track of their trucks’ condition and know the real-time status of the fleet.
Sandvik Group
Sandvik is a high-tech and global engineering group offering products and services that enhance customer productivity, profitability and safety. We hold world-leading positions in selected areas – tools and tooling systems for metal cutting; equipment and tools, service and technical solutions for the mining industry and rock excavation within the construction industry; products in advanced stainless steels and special alloys as well as products for industrial heating. In 2019, the Group had approximately 40,000 employees and revenues of about 100 billion SEK in more than 160 countries within continuing operations.
Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology
Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology is a business area within the Sandvik Group and a globally leading supplier of equipment and tools, service and technical solutions for the mining and construction industries. Application areas include rock drilling, rock cutting, crushing and screening, loading and hauling, tunnelling, quarrying and breaking and demolition. In 2019, sales were approximately 45 billion SEK with about 14,000 employees in continuing operations.
Nicolle Portilla is RTS’s Social Media Manager, and has been a valued member of the team since July 2018. She is responsible for content creation on all platforms, leveraging creative software, industry trends and research, and social media strategy to build upon the company’s online presence. Additionally, Nicolle contributes to the RTS blog, which serves to educate clients and industry players about our technology and sustainability efforts, and is responsible for the creation and dissemination of our internal and external newsletters. Prior to taking on the role of Social Media Manager, Nicolle served on the Sustainability team for nearly three years, assisting clients in achieving their sustainability goals through external communications and event organizing. Preceding Nicolle’s time on the RTS team is her work with Clean Water Action, where she promoted clean water initiatives. Nicolle graduated from Stony Brook University in 2018 with a B.A. in Sustainability.