Following an on-site assessment by the National Intelligent Coal Mine Expert Panel, TBEA’s South open pit coal mine, operated by its subsidiary Tianchi Energy, has been designated one of China’s first batch of ‘National Intelligent Coal Mines.’ The South open-pit mine is a large coal operation in the northwest of China with a production capacity of 40 Mt/y.

To accelerate progress in achieving more intelligent coal mines and safer, more efficient and greener mining, China issued ‘Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Intelligent Coal Mines’ in 2020. This outlines ambitious development goals, including the achievement of autonomous haulage in large open-pit coal mines by 2025. This guideline is playing a crucial role in catalysing the commercialisation of autonomous haulage projects in China.

After nearly three years of development, the South open pit mine has utilised 5G, Big Data, artificial intelligence and other state-of-the-art technologies to build an industrial IoT platform, autonomous haulage system, truck-shovel safety monitor and control system.

As part of the intelligentisation process at the South open put mine, Eacon Mining has supplied the autonomous haulage solution. It has also delivered a remote control excavator solution, working together with BuilderX, which specialises in this technology niche.

In June 2022, Eacon says the South open-pit coal mine became the first in China to achieve 24/7 continuous operation of four autonomous fleets. By January 2023, it had accumulated an impressive 890,000 km of autonomous haulage. Field proven under extreme cold and high temperatures without any accidents for 28 consecutive months, it says this project highlights the advanced development of autonomous mining and haulage in the Chinese market.

The autonomous haulage system includes an intelligent scheduling and command platform, autonomous trucks, as well as remote control and collaborative systems. The intelligent scheduling and command platform serves as the manager of Eacon’s autonomous haulage process, providing a range of functions including dispatching, three-dimensional visualisation, real-time monitoring, failure handling, remote control, and data management.

Through this platform, users have a detailed understanding of the haulage and production activities of the mine, ensuring safe and efficient operations. Moreover, the platform is equipped with highly reliable data security features that include safe connections, security protocols, and data encryption etc in line with international standards.

Regarding autonomous trucks, the driverless mining trucks at the South open-pit mine are equipped with obstacle identification, onboard planning and decision, and remote emergency takeover functions. These features enable the trucks to achieve autonomous control based on onboard intelligence, making them more flexible. Remote control of excavators reduces safety risks for the operator which could include coal self-ignition or landslides. The remote control of mining trucks can be used to handle special situations, ensuring continuous production and improving overall haulage efficiency. Collaborative systems can assist the interaction between manned equipment and driverless vehicles, as well as support map data acquisition.

At present, the number of autonomous trucks deployed by Eacon in the South open pit mine has increased to 31. Moving forward, Eacon told IM it is going to put more efforts into the research and development of new energy technologies for autonomous vehicles. The South open pit mine will also develop an unmanned green mine strategy that aligns with its own development objectives. Eacon says it will continue to support its client in achieving intelligence and zero-carbon goals, so as to make open-pit mining safer and more sustainable.