Epiroc Converts 78 Haul Trucks for Autonomous Operation at Roy Hill, Australia

Epiroc AB has converted, from manual to fully driverless, 78 mining haul trucks at Hancock Iron Ore’s Roy Hill mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Epiroc and Hancock Iron Ore have partnered to convert 78 haul trucks using Epiroc’s LinkOA system, with 60 of them designated for autonomous operation. The next phase involves […] Epiroc Converts 78 Haul Trucks for Autonomous Operation at Roy Hill, Australia published on The HeavyQuip Magazine.

Oct 30, 2025 - 03:55

Epiroc Converts 78 Haul Trucks for Autonomous Operation at Roy Hill, Australia

Epiroc AB has converted, from manual to fully driverless, 78 mining haul trucks at Hancock Iron Ore’s Roy Hill mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Epiroc and Hancock Iron Ore have partnered to convert 78 haul trucks using Epiroc’s LinkOA system, with 60 of them designated for autonomous operation. The next phase involves deploying the remaining trucks and completing the communications setup for the mine’s ancillary vehicles. Once fully implemented, the autonomous fleet will include 54 Caterpillar 793F trucks and 24 Hitachi EH5000 trucks.

Autonomous trucks at Hancock Iron Ore’s Roy Hill mine.

Hancock Iron Ore (HIO), an iron ore producer, was created this year when Hancock’s Atlas Iron and Roy Hill joined forces.

“HIO was inspired by the work of our Executive Chairman, Dr Gina Rinehart AO, and Executive Director Tad Watroba, who selected Epiroc to help lead autonomous mining haulage initially at Roy Hill,”

Said Gerhard Veldsman, Hancock Iron Ore CEO.

Hancock Iron Ore’s autonomous haul trucks are using Epiroc’s LinkOA traffic management and on-board automation systems to navigate the Roy Hill mine’s virtual map, communicating with ancillary vehicles and the Remote Operations Centre (ROC) located some 1 100 km away in Perth. More than 250 million tonnes of material have been moved autonomously using LinkOA, and the trucks have safely travelled around 6 million kilometres, equivalent to going around the world more than 150 times, delivering consistent results that redefine what is possible in surface mining.

With most of the 78 converted trucks already operating autonomously, the project has entered its final phase, which will bring all trucks and ancillary vehicles online by December 2025.

The connectivity was implemented in readiness for AHS operations with support from Radlink, which was acquired by Epiroc earlier this year.

In August, Epiroc received Hancock Iron Ore’s 2025 Innovation Award for its pivotal role in delivering the autonomous haulage project, showcasing ground-breaking scale, safety, and technological excellence in mining automation.

Epiroc Converts 78 Haul Trucks for Autonomous Operation at Roy Hill, Australia published on The HeavyQuip Magazine.