Volvo–Boliden autonomous tailings haulage: design and safety notes for mine engineers Reviewed by Joe Ashwell First reported on International Mining – News 30 Second Briefing Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Boliden have completed an autonomous haulage project for tailings dam construction at the Garpenberg zinc mine in Sweden, the first deliverable under their 2023 memorandum of understanding. Volvo’s autonomous haul trucks operated on a defined haul road between the open pit and the tailings facility, integrating with existing conventional fleets and site traffic management. The trial provides data on cycle times, berm and ramp design, and interaction rules needed to scale autonomous haulage for future dam lifts and other overburden movements on Boliden sites. Technical Brief - Volvo Autonomous Solutions deployed its in-house autonomous drive stack on Volvo-branded haul units for the trial. - Boliden’s Garpenberg operation used the project to validate autonomous haulage specifically for tailings dam lift construction. - Mixed-traffic interaction rules were co-developed by Volvo and Boliden safety teams for shared haul routes. - Site procedures were updated so conventional operators received specific training on autonomous vehicle right-of-way and exclusion zones. - Volvo’s remote supervision concept was tested, with operators overseeing multiple autonomous units from a control room environment. - Safety case development focused on predictable vehicle behaviour on constrained dam embankments and narrow haul ramps. - Outcomes are intended to inform standardised autonomous haulage safety protocols for future overburden and tailings movements. Our Take Volvo Autonomous Solutions’ work with Boliden at Garpenberg in Sweden sits alongside its fully autonomous haulage at Brønnøy Kalk’s Velfjord limestone mine in Norway (23 March 2026 article), signalling that the Volvo FH autonomous platform is now being proven across both production hauling and infrastructure tasks in Nordic hard‑rock environments. Series assembly of Volvo FH Autonomous trucks at Volvo Buses’ Säffle plant in