
Hitachi EH5000AC
Whitehaven Coal is collaborating with Hitachi to design and introduce an Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) to support its mines in north-west New South Wales.
The collaboration will involve scoping the delivery and commissioning of phased AHS deployment for the fleet of Hitachi EH5000AC3 trucks at the Maules Creek mine.
Hitachi will support the establishment of the physical and technological infrastructure to support the AHS capability.
“Autonomous haulage systems have been shown to significantly reduce human exposure to safety hazards and critical risk scenarios as well as contribute to better mine efficiency overall,” according to Hitachi.
Hitachi will deliver Hitachi AHS as one of the core components of its ‘solution linkage’ initiative.
The equipment manufacturer’s fleet management system, provided by Wenco International Mining Systems, plays a key role in the optimisation of mining operations as part of the AHS.
Hitachi has designed its AHS based on the concepts of scalability, flexibility and agility.