Rio Tinto says it is investigating an incident involving a loaded haul truck and a stationary light vehicle in Western Australia's Pilbara.

Key points: Rio Tinto says safety is its main priority after a haul truck crushed a ute at a WA mine

Rio Tinto says safety is its main priority after a haul truck crushed a ute at a WA mine The truck was in manual mode at the time, though industry players are moving towards automation

The truck was in manual mode at the time, though industry players are moving towards automation DMIRS is aware of the incident, which the miner says is under investigation

It is understood the driver of the light vehicle was performing maintenance on the haul truck on the morning of 21 November, at the Brockman 4 iron ore mine near Tom Price, when he ran over his own vehicle.

Rio Tinto has confirmed no one was injured in the incident.

It is an embarrassing safety breach for the mining giant and comes after BHP's runaway train disaster last year when a handbrake was applied to the wrong train.

It has also revived memories from October 2012 when a truck driver at Kalgoorlie-Boulder's Super Pit gold mine rolled a 793c haul truck onto its side.

The driver was not injured in that incident, but the truck was significantly damaged.

"Safety is our top priority," a Rio Tinto spokesperson said.

"The ongoing internal investigation will seek to identify measures to ensure such incidents are avoided in the future."

Rio Tinto is investigating how the incident occurred. ( Supplied: Mining Mayhem )

Rio said the haul truck involved in the incident had been retrofitted with the technology enabling it to run autonomously, however it was operating in manual mode at the time of the incident, and was outside the autonomous zone.

Across Australia, major iron ore miners including Rio, BHP, and FMG are moving towards automated technology on their sites.

The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) said it was aware of the incident.

"DMIRS officers have attended the scene and are making enquiries," director of mines safety Andrew Chaplyn said.