RIO TINTO says it will invest US$371m to automate its iron ore railway in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
This move with be one of the first steps toward achieving the dream of automated mines the company first outlined in January 2008.
The miner claims the investment was made following successful trials, and driverless trains will be operating on most of the 1300km of track within five years. This will enable to the company to expand annual iron ore production to 320m tonnes in 2012.
The Rio Tinto operation will be the first use of automation in a heavy haul railway of this scale. The technology already operates on many metropolitan passenger railways around the world, and has appositive record for safety and reliability.
Other upgrades to the network include the introduction of 40 new-generation locomotives, extensive re-railing and reinvestment in rolling stock, including the purchase of 2400 new ore cars over 18 months.
Add a comment