Autonomous Trucks
De Beers has devised an autonomous mining roadmap for its Venetia Underground Mine (VUG) that will – once fully implemented – result in the new $2 billion mine becoming one of the most mechanised and automated mining operations in the world. According to Giel Marais, Principal Automation & Information at De Beers, the objective in terms of automation at the Venetia Underground Mine (VUG) is to have a number of autonomous mining systems performing multiple mining processes by 2027. “This is an ambitious goal but we believe achievable given the major technological advances made in recent years, particularly by the Original Equipment Manufacturers who produce underground mining machines,” he says. The final phase of implementation will see the introduction of full autonomous mining systems. The key characteristic of autonomous mining systems is the use of multiple autonomous machines which are managed by an integrated central traffic management system.