BHP Billiton last week celebrated the official opening of its new Jimblebar iron ore mine located some 40 km east of Newman in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. BHP Billiton President Iron Ore Jimmy Wilson, was joined by the Premier of Western Australia, the Hon. Colin Barnett, and joint venture participants ITOCHU and Mitsui to open the $3.2 billion operation. Jimblebar delivered first production in the quarter ending September 2013 and is expected to deliver phase one capacity of 35 Mt/y by the end of the 2015 financial year.  Together with the installation of four mobile crushers, this will increase total Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) supply chain capacity to in excess of 220 mtpa (100% basis).

Longer term, a low cost option to expand Jimblebar to 55 mtpa and the broader debottlenecking of the supply chain is expected to underpin capital efficient growth in WAIO capacity to approximately 260 Mt/y to 270 Mt/y (100% basis). BHP Billiton Iron Ore President, Jimmy Wilson, said extensive planning and research went into designing Jimblebar’s mining operation, with productivity measures and technology central to the design plan. “Mobile crib rooms and fuelling stations have been positioned closer to the mine pits so our trucks and equipment spend more time moving earth and less time travelling or parked out of action,” he said. “Our pursuit of productivity gains and operational excellence is delivering significant value at Western Australia Iron Ore. The business is now well positioned to deliver high margin volume growth at a substantially lower cost. “We are also pleased to announce we are extending our Jimblebar autonomous truck trial to the neighbouring Wheelarra operations using six Caterpillar 793F trucks in the second trial.”

A trial of autonomous trucks is currently underway at Jimblebar to test the technology used to safely and efficiently haul iron ore. Six autonomous Caterpillar 793F trucks are being used in the trial, which commenced in August 2013. From mid-2014, the trial of autonomous trucks will be expanded to include a second circuit at Jimblebar. An additional six trucks will operate at the neighbouring Wheelarra 4 pits and will enable dumping of ore by autonomous trucks into the newly tied-in Wheelarra crusher. The purpose of the trial is to define and test the roles, processes and technology required to safely operate autonomous trucks in a production environment, and to understand the production benefits and safety implications of using the trucks. Depending on the success of the trial, the benefits of expanding the use of autonomous haul trucks may be investigated.