Newmont Goldcorp President – and soon to be CEO – Tom Palmer, told investors on a conference call this week that the miner was looking into the feasibility of implementing autonomous haulage at the Boddington gold-copper mine, in Western Australia.

The mine produced 709,000 oz of gold for Newmont Goldcorp last year and is currently undergoing a stripping campaign in the South Pit in order to reach higher-grade ore.

Palmer said the company recently advanced its “autonomous haulage study” at the mine and there could be a funding decision made on this project before the end of 2019.

“If approved, the project is expected to improve cost and mining productivity, by converting the fleet of 39 haul trucks to autonomous operation, using the Cat command system,” Palmer said.