With the global mining industry still digging out of commodity slowdowns, much of the heavy equipment on display at this year’s MINExpo International exhibition was geared toward solving technological problems in time for the next boom.
The fully autonomous mine is not yet a reality, but equipment manufacturers had new ideas to display at the quadrennial trade show. Komatsu displayed a fully autonomous hauler with no operator cab and a 230-metric-ton payload. The Innovative Autonomous Haulage Vehicle can work on sites without external input from an operator, the company said during the show, held in Las Vegas on Sept. 26-28.