Efficiency and productivity have increased significantly at a Western Australian Gold and Copper mine thanks to the implementation of RCT’s Digital, Autonomous technology across its mobile mining fleet.
The site was no stranger to RCT’s state-of-the-art autonomous solution, having benefitted from our analogue technology for many years before the latest upgrade.
The decision to transform operations was made to future proof themselves with RCT’s latest digital solution.
The project involved transitioning a mixed machine fleet consisting of three existing Sandvik 514 loaders and two 1700 CAT loaders. The technology upgrade utilises RCT’s Connect - the full-scale digital communications solution that is designed to meet the demands of autonomous machines in real-time for both existing and future fleet needs.
“RCT’s innovative technology ensures all remote loaders on site can operate autonomously now and well into the future,” said RCT Account Manager, Scott Phillips.
As well as improved operating efficiencies, the upgrade in technology has enabled operators to remote from the mine’s surface.
While the technology implementation is still relatively new, a spokesperson from the mine said there have been a myriad of benefits so far.
“Managing the fleet from the surface or "hot seating" has boosted production. Capturing the lost time from shift change and continued operations over firing has tangibly improved our remote productivity,” said the mine site’s spokesperson.
“In addition to this, the digital system is proving to be a very reliable and easy to manage solution,” they added.
The changes have been well-received by our operators with improved picture quality following the digital upgrade.
RCT’s digital solution also paves the way for multiple machine control which was also a deciding factor for the upgrade.
“This particular mine site is known for its long production drives so having one operator operate multiple machines simultaneously will allow the operation to dramatically increase productivity – it’s the perfect scenario,” said Mr Phillips.
“This progressive mine site is now set up to introduce RCT’s latest features as they are released,” he added.
