IMPLEMENTATION OF AN AUTONOMOUS HAULAGE SYSTEM ON RETROFITTED HAUL TRUCKS AT NEVADA GOLD MINES GOLDSTRIKE OPERATIONS

摘要

In mid-2017 Barrick Gold in partnership with Premiere Gold Mines contracted Autonomous Solutions Incorporated (ASI) to complete an autonomous operation Proof-of Concept (POC) at Nevada Gold Mines (NGM), Goldstrike - Arturo Operation. The POC directed ASI to supply a successful retrofit of 5 Komatsu 930E-2 haul trucks for fully autonomous operation, and to provide and implement their proprietary Mobius control software. By June of 2018, the first truck began testing. The safe implementation of an Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) on 15+ year old haul trucks required a vast number of changes to procedures, in both operations and planning. Considerations to employee perception and acceptance of the project were among the most important items during the implementation process. Operators were engaged from the onset of the project to ensure project acceptance, and that all concerns were addressed. This paper will highlight the change management process from the communication strategy, risk assessments, procedure development, operator training to changes to mine planning and some of the current system limitations that influenced these decisions.