Autonomous trucks continue to drive the industry forward, as one of the biggest distributors of autonomous fleets surpasses a major milestone.

Caterpillar Mining announced in a statement this week that its mining trucks, in collaboration with MineStar Command for hauling has hit hauled one billion tonnes of material.

The company first deployed six commercial autonomous trucks back in 2013 and now its entire fleet has grown to exceed more than 150 with six different mining companies worldwide.

“Command for hauling has proven its value to mining customers,” said Sean McGinnis, product manager, Caterpillar Mining Technology. “That value is reflected in the rate at which the Cat autonomous fleet achieved this milestone. The fleet is growing quickly and production continues to climb as mining companies benefit from greater truck productivity, increased truck utilization, consistent truck operation and reduced costs.

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“In the process of hauling one billion tonnes, the autonomous trucks travelled nearly 35mn kilometres,” McGinnis said. “No lost time injuries have been attributed to Cat autonomous haulage. Command for hauling has demonstrated how it enhances safety by eliminating truck operating errors and by reducing the number of people working in the active mining area.”

Cat autonomous trucks are operating in Australia, South America and North America. A recent milestone saw a fleet of 70 Cat autonomous trucks in Australia has achieve productivity increases of 30% at significantly reduced costs.