Komatsu Mining Corp. reported BHP purchased 41 autonomous-ready Komatsu 930E-5 ultra-class haul trucks for its new South Flank iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Komatsu is delivering the trucks now through October.
Leadership at the company told Australia’s Financial Review it was the first big fleet sale to BHP in Western Australia. “We are pretty excited about it because we feel it shows a fair amount of confidence in Komatsu,” Komatsu Australia CEO Sean Taylor said.
South Flank will supply the BHP’s Western Australia Iron Ore division with roughly 80 million mt/y, replacing production from the Yandi mine, which is reaching the end of its life.
Separately, Komatsu announced plans to build a facility to support the growth of its mining business in western Canada. It reported it will invest $40 million in an 85,000-ft2 sales and service facility located on 15 acres in downtown Sparwood, British Columbia, Canada, where the company has been operating for 30 years. The company will work out of its existing Sparwood facility while the new one is built.
The new facility will enable the company to better serve local and regional customers, Komatsu leadership said. “This facility will be a great new place of work for our employees while enhancing our capabilities, so we can continue to provide our customers unrivaled service delivery,” Komatsu Mining Corp. Regional Manager Steven Droste said.
