BHP Group will deploy hundreds of robots within a few years across its Queensland metallurgical coal operations, part of a US$800 million program to introduce up to 500 new autonomous vehicles across the Pilbara and Queensland, The Australian reported Sept. 28.
The additional truck fleet will complement an existing 50 driverless trucks operating at the Jimblebar iron ore mine in Western Australia.
According to the report, the implementation of autonomous trucks have delivered up to 25% in productivity improvements at iron ore mines run by BHP, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. and Rio Tinto and aided the miners in reducing costs.
However, the automation implementation may be challenged in Queensland, where majority of laborers at the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance Pty Ltd. unit, amid fears that the operation's laborers may be in jeopardy.
Based on a 2016 census at the town of Moranbah in Queensland, over 39% of the working population, represented by 1,600 people, said they work as either a machinery operator or driver in the coal industry.
BHP's Australian chief Mike Henry allayed the fears of machines replacing humans, saying that, while some traditional blue collar roles vanish upon the introduction of autonomous trucks, the impact will be softened through new opportunities created in the remote operations centers, vehicle servicing, and the maintenance of the onsite infrastructure that supports their deployment.
"The simple narrative can sometimes be that you automate the trucks and the truck drivers are all gone. And then that any of the replacement roles are professional, and sitting in a room in Perth or Brisbane. That's actually not the case. That's not the reality on the ground," Henry said.
