ELKO, Nev. (AP) — Barrick Gold Corp., the largest gold mining company in the world, has started testing autonomous hauling trucks in a partnership with a neighboring mine in northeast Nevada and a Utah-based company that's using new technology to retrofit existing haul fleets.
The Elko Daily Free Press reportsBarrick announced last week that it began testing the autonomous trucks at its Arturo Joint Venture operation.
Autonomous haulage project manager Matt Majors says, "The goal is to use advances in automation technology to help Barrick prove and deliver improvements in safety, efficiency and production."
Surface testing will begin with autonomous haulage at the Arturo mine, a joint venture operation between Barrick and Premier Gold Mines Ltd.
Barrick and Premier have partnered with Autonomous Solutions Inc. to retrofit an existing fleet of five haul trucks with autonomous kits.