18th Jan 2008 07:01
Rio Tinto PLC18 January 2008 Rio Tinto chief executive unveils vision for 'mine of the future' 18 January 2008 Key building blocks for automated mine-to-port iron ore operations are beingcommissioned by Rio Tinto. These include: • Mine operations in the Pilbara to be controlled 1,300 kilometresaway at a new centre in Perth; • Driverless trains to carry iron ore on most of the 1,200 km oftrack; • Driverless 'intelligent' truck fleet; and • Remote control 'intelligent' drills Tom Albanese, Rio Tinto chief executive, unveiled his vision of the 'mine of thefuture' in Perth today as part of Rio Tinto's drive to maintain its position asAustralia's leading iron ore producer. The Group aims to be the leader inintegrated and automated mining and transport in the Pilbara iron ore region,leading to greater efficiency, lower production costs and more attractiveworking conditions that will help Rio Tinto to recruit and retain staff in thehighly competitive labour market. Major components of the 'mine of the future' are being commissioned in Rio TintoIron Ore operations in 2008 and 2009 including establishing a Remote OperationsCentre (ROC) in Perth to manage operations in the Pilbara mines hundreds ofkilometres away. This allows operators overseeing Rio Tinto Iron Ore mines andprocess plant facilities to be physically located in Perth, Western Australia. Remote control 'intelligent' trains, drills and trucks will be operationalwithin Rio Tinto Iron Ore during 2008. Humans will no longer need to be hands onas all this equipment will be 'autonomous' - able to make decisions on what todo based on their environment and interaction with other machines. Operatorswill oversee the equipment from the ROC. Tom Albanese said, "Rio Tinto is changing the face of mining. We have at leasta three year start on the rest of the industry, which has focused on discretetechnologies rather than modernising the whole mine-to-port operation. We'reaiming to be the global leaders in fully integrated, automated operations. Itwill allow for more efficient operations and directly confront the escalatingcosts associated with basing employees at remote sites, giving us a competitiveadvantage as an employer along the way." Remote Operations Centre A Remote Operations Centre (ROC) will be built for Rio Tinto near Perth'sdomestic airport. When completed in 2009, the ROC will house at least 320employees who will work with Pilbara-based colleagues to oversee, operate andoptimise the use of key assets and processes, including all mines, processingplants, the rail network, ports and power plants. Operational planning andscheduling functions will also be based in the ROC. ROC-based management would oversee pit and plant control, as well as manage themost effective use of power distribution and support activity such asmaintenance planning. Remote operation of RTIO mines and plant in the Pilbarahas already been successfully trialled. The centre will feature an operational control room, office block and supportinginfrastructure, and allow for potential significant expansions beyond itsinitial scale. Driverless trains Studies are being finalised on the application of Autonomous Train Operationstechnology in a heavy haul capacity and are expected to lead to significantefficiency benefits. Mainline trials conducted with the Western AustraliaOffice of Rail Safety have progressed well and a decision on the next stage ofthe project is expected in mid-2008. Automated rail management is the firstmajor operation scheduled to be run from the Remote Operations Centre. 'Intelligent' driverless trucks Rio Tinto will introduce into the Pilbara the industry-leading KomatsuAutonomous Haulage System, which will allow for a fleet of 320 tonne off-highwaytrucks to be operated without drivers. The system will be commissioned beforethe end of 2008 and is expected to be more widely deployed in new and existingRio Tinto Iron Ore operations by 2010. Remote control 'intelligent' drills Rio Tinto is already using bespoke autonomous drill technology in the Pilbara tosupport the 'mine of the future' strategy. A pathway to fully automated mine-to-port operations Rio Tinto began work on defining building blocks for the 'mine of the future'over a decade ago and key components required for an integrated mine-to-portoperating system are being assembled and tested by Rio Tinto Iron Ore. A number of key technologies have been introduced on a staged basis, beginningin 2006 with the development of autonomous drilling rigs for the Pilbara. Inearly 2007, Rio Tinto established and funded on a long term basis the Rio TintoCentre for Mine Automation in partnership with The University of Sydney. Underthis partnership Rio Tinto has secured exclusive access to world renownedrobotics experts dedicated to addressing Rio Tinto's 'mine of the future'opportunities. This year Rio Tinto Iron Ore will start running extensive trials at dedicatedmine test site. Trials will combine the world leading Komatsu AutonomousDriverless Haulage System with a range of other advanced remote control andautonomous technologies in order to provide an industrial scale proving groundand template. Experience gained by the business will allow for furtherdeployments in the Pilbara in 2010 and will also have application at other RioTinto mining operations. The 'mine of the future' programme will provide opportunities for technologydriven performance improvements to support Rio Tinto Iron Ore's announced plansto take annual global iron ore production beyond 600 million tonnes. About Rio Tinto Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK,combining Rio Tinto plc, a London listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, whichis listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Majorproducts are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold,industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore.Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and NorthAmerica with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southernAfrica. Forward-Looking Statements This announcement includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning ofSection 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of theSecurities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other thanstatements of historical facts included in this announcement, including, withoutlimitation, those regarding Rio Tinto's financial position, business strategy,plans and objectives of management for future operations (including developmentplans and objectives relating to Rio Tinto's products, production forecasts andreserve and resource positions), are forward-looking statements. Suchforward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties andother factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements ofRio Tinto, or industry results, to be materially different from any futureresults, performance or achievements expressed or implied by suchforward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding RioTinto's present and future business strategies and the environment in which RioTinto will operate in the future. Among the important factors that could causeRio Tinto's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materiallyfrom those in the forward-looking statements include, among others, levels ofdemand and market prices, the ability to produce and transport productsprofitably, the impact of foreign currency exchange rates on market prices andoperating costs, operational problems, political uncertainty and economicconditions in relevant areas of the world, the actions of competitors,activities by governmental authorities such as changes in taxation or regulationand such other risk factors identified in Rio Tinto's most recent Annual Reporton Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission(the "SEC") or Form 6-Ks furnished to the SEC. Forward-looking statementsshould, therefore, be construed in light of such risk factors and undue relianceshould not be placed on forward-looking statements. These forward-lookingstatements speak only as of the date of this announcement. Rio Tinto expresslydisclaims any obligation or undertaking (except as required by applicable law,the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Takeover Code"), the UK ListingRules, the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the Financial Services Authorityand the Listing Rules of the Australian Securities Exchange) to release publiclyany updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein toreflect any change in Rio Tinto's expectations with regard thereto or any changein events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Nothing in this announcement should be interpreted to mean that future earningsper share of Rio Tinto plc or Rio Tinto Limited will necessarily match or exceedits historical published earnings per share. Subject to the requirements of the Takeover Code, none of Rio Tinto, any of itsofficers or any person named in this announcement with their consent or anyperson involved in the preparation of this announcement makes any representationor warranty (either express or implied) or gives any assurance that the impliedvalues, anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied inforward-looking statements contained in this announcement will be achieved. For further information, please contact: Media Relations, Australia Media Relations, LondonAmanda Buckley Christina MillsOffice: +61 (0) 3 9283 3627 Office: +44 (0) 20 8080 1306Mobile: +61 (0) 419 801 349 Mobile: +44 (0) 7825 275 605Ian Head Nick CobbanOffice: +61 (0) 3 9283 3620 Office: +44 (0) 20 8080 1305Mobile: +61 (0) 408 360 101 Mobile: +44 (0) 7920 041 003 Media Relations, AmericasNancy IvesMobile: +1 619 540 3751 Investor Relations, Australia Investor Relations, LondonDave Skinner Nigel JonesOffice: +61 (0) 3 9283 3628 Office: +44 (0) 20 7781 2049Mobile: +61 (0) 408 335 309 Mobile: +44 (0) 7917 227365Simon Ellinor David OvingtonOffice: +61 (0) 7 3867 1607 Office: +44 (0) 20 7781 2051Mobile: +61 (0) 439 102 811 Mobile: +44 (0) 7920 010 978 Investor Relations, North AmericaJason CombesOffice: +1 (0) 801 685 4535Mobile: +1 (0) 801 558 2645 Email: [email protected] Website: www.riotinto.com High resolution photographs available at: www.newscast.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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