1. The Future of Mining Technology
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.
These are exciting and rapidly changing times
This topic is getting significant attention in the current economic conditions.
Caterpillar have a long association mine technology and autonomy and have a continuous investment in this space over the last 30 years.
Today I will briefly explore
some of the key drivers for mine site technology and autonomy
And share an overview of caterpillar strategy and road map for this space.
The development of technology for mining
And key drivers for success in this space
All that said the blue dot of the completely autonomous mine is many years away. However the semi autonomous mine with a combination of operated and autonomous vehicles is a reality today.
Jim Walker
WesTrac Pty Ltd
June 2011

2. Technology Drivers Safety Reduced operator exposure
Cost & Productivity
Better process control, efficiency
Improved utilisation
Labour—infrastructure, recruiting & training
Mine site optimisation
Asset - ore body
Fixed and Mobile asset
Sustainability
Reduced Carbon foot print
So what are the key drivers for mine site technology. Arguably the primary driver is managing the variables that exist in manned operations. Access to skilled and semi skilled employees is becoming more difficult. Issues such as employee retention, availability of training resources and an over all reduction in the experience level in the industry give rise for a need to manage these variables to ensure a safe and predictable mining operation.
Ultimately technology offers the opportunity to address
Reduce variability in the mining process and
Increase safety, productivity and predictability.
Availability of labour – today the typical cost of operating a a piece of mining machinery in a 24/7 operation if close to $1million if you can get the operator!!!
Management of these elements will allow for a higher level of ore body optimisation as well as increased utilisation of the mining assets
Over 20 years ago Caterpillar had the first Autonomous mining truck however the autonomous mining truck alone does not address the
Business and Health Safety Environment and community risks. Also when Caterpillar first introduced our autonomous truck in 1996, we also discovered the industry and customers weren’t prepared for the process and people changes that would need also be a part of the successful implementation of an autonomous truck. Our popular media based up bringing has given us the irrational fear that we might see the headlines in “the Australian”, “Monster Robot Truck runs rampant in Kalgoorlie” whilst this is not the reality the business and HSEC risks are real. Until we achieve the blue dot of the fully Autonomous mine the technology will need to manage the manned and unmanned aspects of the mining process
Over the next 20 years the focus has been developing the integrated technologies designed to address these risks. We will explore these in the coming slides.

3. Intelligent Remote Control of Earth Moving Machines
Research
Intelligent Remote Control of Earth Moving Machines
Autonomous Machines
The development does not stop with the DARPA challenges, Caterpillar is actively pursuing the development of remote / autonomous earthmoving machines for use in extra terrestrial mining applications through our work with NASA. This is augmented by competitions such as the lunabotics mining challenge which is a similar challenge to the DARPA.

4. Building Blocks & Technology Integration
Topic: Technology integration…
Caterpillars approach over the last 20 years has been to build a stepped approach to mine site technology. Many of these elements are in use in operations today. Going forward the Autonomous solution will require all of these building blocks joined together to manage the mining process and the associated risks.
We have mentioned integration a number of times in this talk. This integration needs to be apparent in two distinct areas
Off board - Between the information and data management systems that hold the mine plan and
On board - The interfaces for the machine and its controls
This slide shows the technology developed to build up to an autonomous solution, concurrent with this effort, Caterpillar has been developing autonomous capability within the design of our mining machines. Today most of our mining equipment has technology ready controls and interfaces built into its DNA.
The other advantage of this approach is that many of these “technologies” that are required for autonomous operation have standalone application in today's manned operations for the management of their business risks.
A examples of this include
For the past 10 year WesTrac have been remotely down loading the electronic data from Caterpillar machines to assist in the maintenance and operational management of machines through automated exception based reporting and diagnostic recommendations through the Cat MineStar System health module. Through this application of technology the miners maintenance department can better utilise the scarce technician labour resource.
The object detection system that is standard on our large mining trucks, when combined with our soon to be released proximity awareness solution augments the operators ability to foresee potential collisions and warn them of potential danger zones or interactions.
You see on the slide the “remote control” building block. This is remote control on 2 levels… firstly the concept of remote control of the machine where you remove the operator from the in-cab seat and potentially harsh operation environment (dust, whole body vibration, etc.). And secondly where we are seeing more mining companies that are using remote operations centres to monitor, manage and track their manned equipment, but instead of doing that at the mine site, performing that function in a major city where it’s easier to find the skilled resources to do the work. 4 4

5. Command - Next Generation Mining
People
Increased productivity & availability
AUTONOMOUS MINING
Enhanced safety & sustainability
Process
When assembled as a mining system the core elements of our autonomy program are covered in Command. Command is the next generation of mining. But there are building blocks to get there that can put mining companies on the journey to the fully autonomous mine site of the future – and achieve significant value to their operations today. Those building blocks are:
Fleet – provides comprehensive, real-time machine tracking, assignment and productivity
management,
Terrain - enables high-precision management of drilling, loading, grading and dragline
operations through the use of guidance technology. It increases machine productivity and
provides you real-time feedback for improved efficiency.
Detect - helps increase operator awareness, enhancing safety at your operation. It includes
a range of capabilities designed to assist the operator, including increased visibility and proximity
detection of fixed and mobile equipment.
Health - delivers critical event-based machine condition and operating data for your entire
fleet. It includes comprehensive equipment health and asset monitoring capabilities, with a
wide range of diagnostic, analytic and reporting tools.
All of these are a reality today… and each one of these building blocks plan a critical role in the autonomous equipment of the future.
Mining
Maximum benefits from this technology are achieved when People, Process and Products are changed concurrently. 5 5

6. Vehicle Health (MVRS) MineStar VIMS Reporting Service Site Cat Dealer
Pit
Site Remote Download Station
VIMS
Data
Cat Dealer
Automatic Fleet Download and
Is Sent Every Hour
By Slave PC or HIM module
Data Stored On Machine
Over Shift
If Needed
Wireless Access
For Troubleshooting
And Operator Training
Minestar Server Automatically
Analyses Data
And Creates Report
Then Report is ed
Site Production Office
Site Maintenance Office
MVRS ( MineStar VIMS Reporting Service ) has been servicing mine sites for over 8 years. It allows for automatic data transfer and reporting on vital machine health and production information. The site receives daily reports to suit their needs
& Web Site
Daily Production
and Maintenance
Report
Customer Headquarters
Daily Production and TKPH
Report To Production
Team
Daily Maintenance
Report to Maintenance Team
630 machines
27 sites

7. MINEGEM MINEGEM underground autonomy is working today in mine sites.
UG Machine Utilisation
MINEGEM is working on many sites around Australia , it allows the machine to automatically tram and dump the load . This has helps to increase production by up to 60% as the machine can tram at a higher speed and allows for a larger machine in the same size drive. The system can also allow for 1 person to operate 2 machines

8. Fleet Real Time fleet management
Fleet provides real-time machine tracking, assignment and productivity management, giving you a comprehensive overview of all asset operations from anywhere in the world.
Real Time fleet management
Serves as a foundational system for autonomy
Topic: Mining trends
For more information: 8 8

9. Terrain Provides industry leading guidance system
Terrain enables high-precision management of drilling, dragline, grading and loading operations through the use of guidance technology. It increases machine productivity and provides real-time feedback for improved efficiency.
Topic: Mining trends
For more information:
Provides industry leading guidance system
Provides a foundational system for autonomy 9 9

10. Detect
Detect helps increase operator awareness, enhancing safety at operations. It includes a range of capabilities designed to assist the operator, including blind spot and proximity detection of fixed and mobile equipment.
Object Detection - uses radar and cameras to detect people and vehicles,now standard on mining trucks; available on other Cat and competitive equipment in 2011
Site Awareness - uses radars, cameras, to provide proximity detection for machines and light vehicles;
Foundational system for autonomy
Topic: Mining trends
For more information: 10 10

11. Command Remote, semi-autonomous and autonomous systems
By integrating the capabilities of Fleet, Terrain, Detect and Health, Command delivers dramatic improvements in safety, productivity and availability at your operation. It provides remote control, semi-autonomous and autonomous systems for both surface and underground mobile mining equipment.
Remote, semi-autonomous and autonomous systems
Available for: - Drilling - Dozing - Hauling - Underground
Topic: Mining trends
For more information: 11 11

12. Requirements for successful technology application
Economic Factors Vary
By application
By current efficiencies
Customer Economic/ social considerations
Strong safety values
Fleet utilization
Fleet efficiency
Labor cost
Labor infrastructure cost
Labor availability
Customer Requirements
Technology adept
Critical mass
Integrated solution / system
Mainstream applications
Change management
Mine planning and design
Partnership philosophy
We believe that the biggest gains for customers will come from the accuracy and efficiency improvements that autonomy offers. (process and activity consistency… Reducing ore dilution, rehandle, truck assignment errors)
Further productivity and cost advantages come from the potential for higher utilization of key mining fleet and the reduction non productive operational hours. We have precedent today with our Semi Autonomous UG mining systems – shown on the photo in the slide -- where we are able to not only remove operators from higher risk areas of the mine but also increase the utilisation and productivity of these machines through accurate guidance and increased utilisation over manned operations.
Autonomy will require miners to have a strong technical focus within their organisation for the management of associated systems and management of data that will feed into and be produced by an Autonomous mine. The production and management of this data will require a high degree of planning and an integrated approach to managing the data from first assay hole to the final load out onto a train or ship. This represents a risk for Autonomy. Today we have a semi skilled skills shortage, the requirements of running autonomous systems is likely to result in a skilled skills shortage moving forward.
The integration of the key elements within an autonomous fleet and the mine systems is going to be key in any systems success
Autonomy will not be for everyone. It will benefit from economies of scale to extract benefit from the investment is supporting systems. Autonomous mining systems will be best suited at sites where specific mine design and operation practices and processes can be built in up front to maximise the benefits of Autonomy.
Moving forward OEMS are going to seek partnership business models with miners to implement these systems to allow for management and control of the business risks of these systems.
The Autonomous mine of the future is closer than you might think… let me show you a video of some of the development of the technology mentioned and Caterpillar’s Command for Hauling system – our autonomous haulage system – which highlights some of the complexities and capabilities of what the autonomous mine site of the future will look like.

13. Cat Command For Hauling Video
Safety Systems video

14. Thank You
Autonomy is going to generate significant interest for the foreseeable future as the demand for resources continues. As we stated at the start of this presentation, Autonomy is not going to be for every one but for those who have the opportunity Caterpillar has positioned itself to be able to provide this solution
Thankyou for your time and any questions?