Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/95079
industryfocus 'Mine of the Future' initiative that will also see the introduction of driverless trains in the Pilbara. Also the first of its kind in the world, Rio Tinto's automated heavy haul system is scheduled to go live in 2014, with completion in 2015. It will feature a central safety server to coordinate the movements of 41 trains and 148 onboard driving modules (robot train drivers), along with system-wide electronically controlled braking systems to reduce delays and fuel wastage associated with stopping and restarting locomotives manually. Combined with the removal of driver changeover times, it will deliver significant improvements in the efficiency and capacity of Rio Tinto's railway network in the Pilbara. While it will cost the company an arm and a leg – half a billion dollars or so, if costs don't blow out – Walsh is confident the system will pay for itself. "Automating train operations will allow us to expand Pilbara production capacity without needing to make a substantial investment in additional trains," he says. REMOTE OPERATIONS HEADQUARTERS As this issue of OUTthere went to press, BHP's Integrated Remote Operations Centre (IROC) in Perth's CBD was scheduled to go online. Six years in the making, this state-of-the-art control room will coordinate the short-term scheduling, planning and control of the seven mines, two ports and 1,000-plus kilometres of rail system that comprise BHP's Pilbara-based iron ore operations. BHP spokeswoman Fiona Hadley says the IROC will be key to managing the company's growth and coordinating across its increasingly large and complex iron ore supply chain. "While the business is currently only in the early days of investigating autonomy, it is part of our long-term strategy to investigate mining technology options to drive safety, productivity and efficiency," she says. "And the IROC in Perth will be an important supporting platform for this technology." The IROC will bring together a total of 300 highly skilled technicians, including mine control analysts, plant controllers and geologists, under one roof in the new Brookfield Place building. Working in eight-hour rotating shifts in air- conditioned comfort, far removed from the searing heat, dust, flies and occupational hazards that are part and parcel of mining iron ore in the Pilbara, they will be provided with continuous training and development opportunities and contribute to significant new business synergies. "The IROC will offer significant benefits to the business: increasing system throughput by improving coordination across the production 56 come a long way since early mining in Australia involving picks, shovels and pans. Today, common mine Mining techniques have FAST FACT styles include open-cut, underground and highwall.