An unmanned electric mining truck guided by 5G is used in Bayan Obo mining district. [Photo/Baotou news network]

A project to introduce an unmanned automatic transportation system for open-pit mines – developed by Inner Mongolia North Hauler Joint Stock Co – was recently reported to be the only candidate in China to be a pilot demonstration project for the national-level mine transportation link.

Work on the project started as early as 2018, but now it has realized unmanned driving at a mine in Bayan Obo mining district, under the guidance of a 5G network.

The system is said to have a stable architecture, the performance meets the applications requirements for the mining environment and it has the potential for large-scale commercialization.

It uses the first group of unmanned mine trucks and unmanned transportation systems in a domestic open-pit mine and harnesses the first unmanned wire-controlled transformation of vehicles in operation there.

While improving the performance quality and brand reputation of domestic mining vehicles, it is understood to have also greatly promoted the intelligent development of Chinese mines.

The company has been focusing on the development of mining trucks for a long time. After 34 years of development, it has formed a haulage system with a rated load of 25-400 metric tonnes – covering all mainstream loads in the mining sector – and its market share ranks it first in China and third in the world.

Moving forwards, plans are for the company's technology to expand further in global markets.