The Gabriela Mistral copper mine in Chile has hauled more than 1 billion tons autonomously without a serious injury. (Photo: Codelco)
By Oscar Martinez
Codelco’s Gabriela Mistral division recently achieved an important milestone, 1 billion tons transported with autonomous haul trucks. The Chilean mining company said the mine is the first to operate a 100% autonomous fleet, made up of 20 haul trucks, guided by Komatsu’s FrontRunner dispatch and scheduling system. The system manages safe interactions between autonomous and manned vehicles and optimizes production with effective fleet management.
“This is part of a production chain that has teams of excellence, of workers committed to the division from start to finish, extending from the mine to the ports,” said Carla Vargas, mine operations manager for Gabriela Mistral.
Simón Contreras, mine management operations and engineering superintendent, emphasizes that the 1 billion tons were transported safely, which highlights the importance of the work that is being done in this area and “how [Gabriela Mistral] will continue to be a benchmark for this industry. The mine achieved this milestone without a fatality or a serious accident.”
