The full story
What is autonomous haulage?
An autonomous haulage system (AHS) is a fleet of mining trucks that drive themselves along mapped roads in an open pit, directed by a central computer and watched over from a control room. The trucks are the same ultra-class machines described on the haul trucks page, carrying around 220 to 320 tonnes a load, fitted with precise GPS, radar, lidar, onboard computers and drive-by-wire controls.
How a driverless fleet works
The mine's roads, loading areas and dumps are mapped in detail. The fleet system assigns each truck its next job, plans its route and sets its speed, and a dispatch system balances trucks between shovels and dumps so neither waits. On board, the truck checks its position many times a second and watches the road ahead. Anything unexpected makes it slow or stop. Staffed light vehicles and machines either stay out of the autonomous zone or carry equipment that tells the system where they are. Supervisors in a control room can halt any truck or the whole fleet.
Where it started and where it is growing
Komatsu's system went into full production at Codelco's Gabriela Mistral copper mine in Chile, which opened in 2008 with driverless trucks, and Rio Tinto began trials at West Angelas in the Pilbara the same year. Rio Tinto now runs about 90% of its Pilbara haul trucks autonomously from an operations centre in Perth, 1,500 km away. BHP, Fortescue and others run large fleets in Western Australia, and oil sands, copper and coal mines in the Americas use them too. The fastest growth is in China: GlobalData counted 2,090 autonomous haul trucks there in July 2025, out of 3,832 worldwide, against 562 a year earlier.
Who makes the systems
Caterpillar (Command for hauling, part of MineStar) and Komatsu (FrontRunner) are the longest-established. Chinese makers such as Tonly and LGMG, often with autonomy firms such as Waytous, have grown quickly. GlobalData's count shows those four makers built 88% of the autonomous trucks it tracks. These are facts about the market, not advice about any company.
Why mines go driverless
- Safety: people leave the cab, the haul road and the blind zones around 400-tonne vehicles.
- Consistency: trucks drive the same way every shift, which is good for tyres, fuel and road wear, and they run through shift changes and breaks.
- Remote sites: a fleet in the desert can be run from a city, which helps where housing and flying workers in is costly.
- The trade-off: the systems cost a lot to install, need precise roads and mapping, and change thousands of jobs, so mines plan the switch with their workforce.
More machines: all mining equipment, haul trucks and the biggest mining machines. The mines: iron ore, copper, mining in Western Australia and mining in Chile.
Questions people ask
How do autonomous mining trucks work?
Each truck carries precise GPS, radar and lidar, and drives along a digital map of the mine's roads. A central fleet system tells it where to load and where to dump, and plans its route and speed. If its sensors see an obstacle, a person or another vehicle where none should be, it slows or stops. Supervisors watch the fleet from a control room and can take over or halt any truck.
Where was the first fully autonomous mine fleet?
Codelco's Gabriela Mistral copper mine (Gaby) in northern Chile opened in May 2008 with a fleet of driverless Komatsu 930E-4 trucks, and is described as the first mine to run a completely autonomous truck fleet. Rio Tinto began trials of the same Komatsu system at West Angelas in Western Australia's Pilbara the same year.
How many autonomous haul trucks are there?
GlobalData counted 3,832 autonomous haul trucks in mines worldwide in July 2025. China had 2,090 of them, up from 562 a year earlier, and Australia 1,024. Caterpillar, Komatsu and the Chinese makers Tonly and LGMG built 88% of the trucks it tracks.
Are autonomous mining trucks safer?
Operators report strong safety records: Gabriela Mistral reached a billion tons hauled autonomously with no fatalities or serious accidents, according to its management. Driverless trucks remove people from the cab and from the blind zones around the truck, and keep staffed vehicles separated from the autonomous area. Safety still depends on the design of the system and the rules around it.
Do autonomous trucks replace drivers?
They change the jobs. Fewer people drive, and more work in control rooms, in maintenance and in managing the system. Mines and unions have negotiated how the change happens, and the trucks still need people to service them, plan the mine and fix problems on the ground.
