KOMATSU COMPLETES FIRST EUROPEAN SALE OF FRONTRUNNER AUTONOMOUS HAULAGE SYSTEM

   Leading plant and construction equipment manufacturer, Komatsu – whose products are distributed in Ireland by McHale Plant Sales – has announced the sale its FrontRunner Autonomous Haulage System to Swedish metals company Boliden, marking the first time the system has been rolled out in Europe.

   Deployed on 11 930E-5 ultra-class haul trucks based at Aitik, one of Europe’s largest open pit copper mines, located in northern Sweden, the FrontRunner system is expected to provide a significant fleet upgrade for Boliden, who specialise in exploration, mining, smelting and metals recycling.

   Combining the reliability and durability of Komatsu electric drive trucks with the power of innovative autonomous haulage technology has helped mining customers worldwide increase productivity and reduce total cost of ownership.

   As Komatsu notes, essential minerals needed to power modern society are getting harder to find and tougher to mine, customers therefore place their trust in mining companies to deliver these resources. Komatsu’s FrontRunner is the preferred management system in nine of the 10 largest mining operations in the world, with over 4 billion tonnes moved since its first commercial deployment in 2008 at CODELCO’s Gabriela Mistral (Gaby) copper mine in Chile.