Rio Tinto Opens Gudai-Darri, its Most Technologically Advanced Mine
June 21 2022 - 2:00AM
Business Wire
Pilbara Traditional Owners, the Banjima People, and Western
Australia’s Minister for Mines and Petroleum; Energy, Hon. Bill
Johnston MLA, today joined Rio Tinto employees as well as valued
partners and suppliers to celebrate the official opening of
Gudai-Darri, Rio Tinto’s most technologically advanced mine.
A large contingent of Traditional Owners attended the opening
which featured a smoking ceremony and traditional singing and
dancing to welcome over 100 guests to Banjima country. The mine’s
footprint also extends to Yinjibarndi country where a section of
the new 166-kilometre rail line was constructed.
Since development commenced in April 2019, more than 14 million
workhours have culminated in the delivery of Rio Tinto’s 17th and
most technologically advanced iron ore mine in the Pilbara.
Development of the mine supported more than 3,000 jobs during the
construction and design phase with the operation requiring around
600 permanent roles.
To optimise mine safety and drive productivity, Gudai-Darri
features an unprecedented deployment of technology, much of it
industry-leading. This includes the use of robotics for the ore
sampling laboratory as well as for distribution of parts in the new
workshop.
From autonomous trucks, trains and drills, standard across many
Rio Tinto mines in the Pilbara, to a full digital replica of the
processing plant which allows teams to monitor and respond to data
collected from the plant. The same digital asset data is used to
provide a feature rich, interactive 3D environment for virtual
reality training. These autonomous assets are monitored remotely
from Rio Tinto’s Operations Centre 1,500 kilometers away in
Perth.
With an expected life of more than 40 years and an annual
capacity of 43 million tonnes, Gudai-Darri will underpin future
production of Rio Tinto’s Pilbara Blend™ product. It’s expected to
increase iron ore production volumes and improve product mix from
the Pilbara from the second half of this year. The mine is expected
to reach capacity in 2023.
Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive Simon Trott said, “We’ve
worked closely with both the Banjima and Yindjibarndi People
through the planning and development stages of Gudai-Darri and we
look forward to partnering with them into the future to ensure the
project achieves significant social and economic benefits.
“Gudai-Darri represents a step-change in the deployment of
automation and technology within our iron ore business and a
fantastic demonstration of the talent, ingenuity and capability
that exists in Western Australia, a region which is now known
globally for its technical excellence and innovation. Gudai-Darri's
combination of data and analytics, machine learning and automation,
will make this mine safer and more productive.
“Gudai-Darri is our first greenfield mine in the Pilbara in more
than a decade and a multi-billion-dollar investment in the State of
Western Australia that will operate for decades to come.”
Western Australia’s Minister for Mines and Petroleum; Energy,
Hon. Bill Johnston MLA said, “It’s great to be here today to
celebrate this momentous occasion. I’m impressed by Rio Tinto’s
innovation and sustainability; this is a prototype of the mine of
the future. Once the new solar farm is complete it will be able to
power one-third of Gudai-Darri’s operational needs with renewable
energy.
“This multi-billion-dollar investment in Western Australia, is
great for the economy and its 40-year mine life will support
thousands of jobs into the future.”
A total of A$3.2 billion in goods and services were sourced
within Western Australia during the construction phase of the
Gudai-Darri Project with contracts valued at A$1.5 billion awarded
directly to WA-registered businesses such as NRW, Primero, DTMT
Construction Company, Southern Cross Electrical Engineering and
Monadelphous Engineering Associates.
This includes over A$100 million awarded directly to local
Aboriginal businesses including White Springs, Lorrex Contracting,
Hicks Civil & Mining, Brida, Karijini Development, Yurala
Contracting Services, and Karlka FenceWright WA.
Notes to editors
Gudai-Darri brings together a suite of innovations,
including:
- Autonomous trucks and drills
- Gudai-Darri has 23 CAT 793F autonomous haul trucks and three
CAT MD6310 autonomous drills. The trucks implement real-time ore
tracking using sensors to provide live dig face progression, while
data-informed modelling from the drills helps to build more
accurate assessments of existing ground conditions and improve
safety. In collaboration with Caterpillar, Rio Tinto is advancing
the development of zero-emissions autonomous haul trucks. Once
development is complete, it is anticipated the world’s first
operational deployment of Caterpillar 793 zero-emissions autonomous
haul trucks will be at Gudai-Darri.
- The world’s first autonomous water carts
- The new vehicles, developed in partnership with Caterpillar,
are primarily used for dust suppression on site, enhancing
productivity by enabling mine operations to digitally track water
consumption and reduce waste. The vehicle’s intelligent on-board
system detects dry and dusty conditions on site, triggering the
application of water to roads to keep them in good condition.
- Autonomous trains (AutoHaul™)
- Fully operational in June 2019, AutoHaul™ was the world’s first
fully autonomous long distance, heavy-haul rail network. The
autonomous train is monitored remotely by operators from our
Operations Centre in Perth more than 1,500 kilometres away.
- Rio Tinto’s first rotable bucketwheel reclaimer
- Traditionally reclaimer maintenance requires a prolonged
shutdown while several components are removed. This patented world
first will enable the entire bucket wheel module to be changed out
for maintenance, improving safety and efficiency
- Robotic ore sampling laboratory
- The Gudai-Darri laboratory is fully automated and integrated
with our mine. Production samples (both lump and fines) enter the
lab via a conveyer from the sample station and will be transferred
to the automated production cell by a robot. This facility will
provide excellent visibility of the ore grade being stockpiled on
site.
- Robotics in Heavy Mobile Equipment warehouse
- The heavy mobile equipment (HME) warehouse is the home to four
automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) designed to automate the handling
of pallet frames. The introduction of AGV’s to the warehouse will
reduce manual handling and improve safety with the introduction of
laser obstacle scanners and auto stop functions.
- Paperless field mobility
- We are using technology to provide our people with in-field
access to real-time data - connecting our teams to each other, to
our work and our assets. Through tablets, team members can access
many of the applications they require out in the field thereby
eliminating the need for paper-based systems and reducing
unnecessary travel.
- ‘Digital twin’ asset
- Our digital asset will be a first within Rio Tinto and will
enable our team members to visually navigate the asset, plan their
work using a (to scale) 3D model and view or download associated
technical data and documents. The same digital asset data is used
to provide a feature rich, interactive 3D environment for virtual
reality training.
- Solar farm
- The solar farm consists of about 83,000 solar panels made up of
photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electricity. Capacity
is up to 34MW and is expected to supply about a third of the mine’s
average electricity demand once construction is complete in
August.
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