Truck Driving and other jobs are being lost rapidly as the top mining giants are in a race to automate their Trains and Trucks to work automatically, remotely controlled with software. A huge number of Truck drivers and train drivers will be losing their truck driving jobs due to the new automation being done by big mining companies like RIO TINTO and also being planned by other major miners like BHP. There has been a growing trend in the mining sector to sue “autonomous transport”
Automated Mining trucks
Both BHP and RIO TINTO are investigating and implemented in some mines the use of autonomous Dump trucks and RIO TINTO last month announced it would spend $483 million installing 41 autonomous trains in the region. These automated trains and trucks are said to be operated remotely in a office somewhere, with the trucks and trains needing no human drivers to drive them. The trains and trucks will be all automated and in some instances wont even need a to be controlled by a remote human operator, as it will be all automated.
Catepillar’s soon-to-be-automated hauling trucks will be the largest but not the first. Caterpillar’s rival, Japan-based Komatsu, already runs automated trucks at the Gaby mine in Chile with the initial tests done on Caterpillar 797B truck
The trucks are fitted with radars, lasers, communication antennas and high-precision GPS to enable them to become automated
After trains drivers took out a stay on execution recently, BHP confirmed that Drivers will be needed for their new batch of trains ordered recently, however a BHP spokesman has said that the new trains would include components which could enable autonomous use in the future.
The big mining giants who advertised heavily before and spent millions of dollars to oppose the mining tax and carbon price , saying that jobs would be lost because of these new taxes are now in the process of automating their fleets with a result of many Australian jobs being lost in the mining sector.
We are being invaded by robots now. It really is advisable to always upgrade on our skills as much as possible.