Rio Tinto Signs MoU With Caterpillar For Zero-Emissions Autonomous Trucks

(RTTNews) - Rio Tinto and Caterpillar said that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Caterpillar's development of zero-emissions autonomous haul trucks for use at one of Rio Tinto's Western Australian mining operations.

The collaboration will advance the development of the manufacturer's future 220-tonne 793 zero-emissions autonomous haul truck including the validation of Caterpillar's emerging zero-emissions technology.

Rio Tinto and Caterpillar will progress a series of development milestones to include a 793 prototype pilot program, testing and pre-production trials.

In June, Rio Tinto announced it would deploy the world's first fully autonomous water truck at Gudai-Darri, which will also be produced by Caterpillar. Rio Tinto is assessing multiple project scopes for Gudai-Darri Phase 2 as part of an ongoing $44 million pre-feasibility study.

Gudai-Darri is Rio Tinto's most technically advanced iron ore mine, in the Pilbara, Western Australia.