Rio Tinto to have world's largest fleet of driverless lorries

Mining group Rio Tinto has signed a deal to buy at least 150 driverless lorries from Japanese construction equipment maker Komatsu over the next four years, giving it the world's largest fleet.

The transfer of the lorries, which will begin in 2012, signals a 15-fold expansion from its previous plan to double the fleet to 10 lorries.

The new lorries will be used at the firm's Pilbara iron ore mines in Western Australia and can be controlled from its operations centre in Perth more than 1,500km away.

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The move means that more material can be moved more quickly and safely, creating a direct increase in productivity.

Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese said: "These 150 new trucks will work with our pioneering operations centre that integrates and manages the logistics of 14 mines, three ports and two railways.

"These technologies are revolutionising the way large-scale mining is done, creating attractive hi-tech jobs, and helping us to improve safety and environmental performance and reduce carbon emissions."

The share price rose 1.64% to 3,306p by 13:03.

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