Rio Tinto in Australia - PageSuite

Rio Tinto in Australia2012Technology and innovationWe believe we must innovate in order to maintain ourcompetitive edge in developing the mines of the future.We cannot rely on existing technologies, which meanswe must invest in new ways to deliver long-term,sustainable benefits.Rio Tinto is rolling out afleet of 150 autonomoustrucks at our Pilbarairon ore operations inWestern Australia.Our Mine of the Future programmeis introducing next-generationtechnologies that reduce costs,increase efficiency, and improvehealth, safety and environmentalperformance.We partner with world leadingexperts and academics, whocomplement our in-house expertise,to develop technologies to addressour future needs.Our Australian work is central toour technology goals and three ofour five long-term partnerships arein this country. With The Universityof Sydney, The University ofQueensland and Curtin Universityin Perth, we are doing cutting-edgeresearch in mine automation,drilling techniques and moreefficient methods of finding andseparating ore.Our Mine of the Future programmeis already providing new, safer, moreengaging and diverse employmentopportunities for our people. We nowmonitor a lot of our Pilbara iron oreoperations from a state-of-the-artOperations Centre in Perth, some1500 kilometres away.The centre, which employs 400people, allows us to monitor thewhole production chain – from pitto port – and has improved oursafety and efficiency.Trials of our new tunnel andshaft-boring systems could reduceunderground mine constructiontime by up to 40 per cent. We arealso developing an airborne devicethat can detect the small changesin gravitational forces that indicatepotential mineral deposits.12