Mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) has begun testing Australia’s first nationally recognized qualifications in automation as a group workers and 30 school students from Perth’s southern suburb take the first two courses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The goal, said the government of Western Australia, is to
equip locals with the necessary skills needed to take advantage of automation
opportunities.
The new courses were developed by the Resource Industry Collaboration, which counts among its members the state government, Rio Tinto, FMG, BHP and Komatsu.
“They will allow us to maintain our competitive advantage as a leader in automation technology in Australia and ensure local people have the skills for the new jobs that are being created through technological innovation,” WA Premier Mark McGowan said in a statement.
“They will also ensure the diversification of our economy and help Western Australians assist the mining industry well into the future.”
Australia’s first nationally recognized qualifications in automation aims to provide workers with new skills in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) industry.
Rio Tinto, which contributed AU$2 million ($1.4m) to develop the courses, began last year shipping iron ore between its Mount Tom Price mine and the port of Cape Lambert via fully autonomous trains.
The world’s No.2 miner is also expanding its fleet of autonomous haul trucks, controlled from Perth, with 30% of its fleet, or about 130 trucks, autonomous by the end of the year.
The auto system allows trucks to
be operated by a central controller rather than a driver. It uses pre-defined
GPS courses to automatically navigate roads and intersections and knows actual
locations, speeds and directions of all vehicles at all times.
Getting to this point was not
easy. The actual commissioning of the autonomous trains project was put off a few times, partly due to software
problems. The first autonomous rail trip was finally
completed in October 2017.
Delays with the implementation of
autonomous iron ore trains hurt Rio Tinto’s output in 2016. The miner ended up
producing 330 million tonnes, down from the original target of 350 million
tonnes.
The so-called Autohaul plan is
part of the “Mine of the Future” project the company launched in 2008 and which
also included the introduction of autonomous haulage trucks, automated drilling
and the roll out of an operations centre near Perth airport.