US mining company to convert to Cat MineStar Command

Caterpillar and Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) have announced that the two companies are collaborating to convert the mining company’s fleet of 33 Cat 793 haul trucks at its Bagdad mine in Arizona, US to an autonomous haulage system (AHS) using Cat MineStar Command for hauling.

The Bagdad mine is a type of copper deposit called porphyry, which contains both sulfide and oxide mineralisation.

The mine has an 85,000 ton-per-day concentrator that produces copper and molybdenum concentrate, and a solution extraction/electrowinning (SX/EW) plant that produces 9 million pounds of copper cathode annually.

The SX/EW plant is one of the oldest and continuously operating plants of its kind in the world.

“We look forward to partnering with Caterpillar to become the first US copper mine to implement a fully autonomous haulage system and are excited about the numerous benefits it will bring to our Bagdad operation and employees,” said Kathleen Quirk, President of Freeport-McMoRan.

“The three-year conversion project is expected to improve safety, optimize our fleet, reduce GHG emissions through reduced idle time and position us to capitalize on future technological advancements in electrification.”

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Command for hauling, Caterpillar says that it has more than 620 autonomous trucks operating with 15 customers on three continents. While operating autonomously, these trucks have hauled more than 6.9 billion tons of material and travelled more than 230 million km without causing any reported injuries.