BHP looking to second generation in driverless road and rail

BHP Billiton’s Jimmy Wilson acknowledges that BHP is trailing Rio Tinto on autonomous trucks and rail in the Pilbara, but he insists that for any technology, the second generation is always better than the first.

''We don't have a deep desire to be first,'' says Wilson, President, Iron Ore. ''We do have the need, however, to exploit the value that technology brings quickly and we would hate to see a competitor have that advantage for an extended period of time. We don't foresee that in either autonomous trucks or rail.'' He says BHP can ''take some of the lessons that others have learnt'' globally from employing autonomous technology, citing work by Rio Tinto and Chinalco.

''[The] approach that I've taken throughout my career with technology is, quite simply, that it is great to be first to be second,'' Wilson says.

In Western Australia, labour shortages and high equipment costs have put pressure on the industry and automation technology is seen as an important future means of managing costs.

BHP's newest Pilbara operation, Jimblebar, has 12 autonomous trucks running, but Wilson says that while the project is going well, BHP is ''not in a position that we can roll it out in the organisation just yet''.