Published: June 30, 2023 |

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Caterpillar and Wheeler Machinery recently completed installation of a Cat® MineStar™ Fleet management system at the Kennecott Bingham Canyon Mine, located just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Rather than upgrading the mine’s previous fleet management system, Kennecott, a Rio Tinto company, chose to deploy MineStar™ Fleet. This has optimized the mine site’s equipment tracking, production recording, material management and truck assignment, and it has further expanded the technology relationship between Caterpillar and Rio Tinto.

“For 15 years, Rio Tinto has used MineStar™ Terrain and has expanded its MineStar capabilities in recent years at locations like Gudai Darri and Marandoo, autonomous mine sites in Western Australia. Bingham Canyon Mine is the first MineStar™ Fleet site in Rio Tinto history, and this extends the company’s application of MineStar™ capabilities,” said Ryan Howell, mining technology commercial product manager at Caterpillar.

“Our team is proud of this MineStar™ Fleet system installation. We are honored to be there to support the mine site’s fleet management needs,” added Howell.

“The close collaboration between the Rio Tinto Group team, Caterpillar, dealer, and Kennecott ensured a successful deployment at Kennecott and their desire to be the flagship for future MineStar™ sites,” said Joshua Wood, principal advisor, Surface Mining Center of Excellence at Rio Tinto.

Even though it wasn’t the easiest route for the mine, the cost-benefit analysis showed significant benefits long-term using MineStar™ Fleet, including seamless integration with MineStar™ Terrain currently used by the mine.

“A true partnership with the supplier, dealer, and customer allows for large-scale technology projects like this to be completed successfully with minimal impact to production,” said Mike Gray, general manager for Wheeler Machinery.

An incremental approach was devised to minimize the system installation loss-time impact on mining operations for bringing nearly 100 trucks plus more than 40 supporting dozers, shovels and drills online with MineStar™ Fleet. Caterpillar and Wheeler worked together to provide a quick turn-around time with best-in-class implementation.

“We have been impressed with the partnership, and we share the same vision and have the correct team to get us there,” said Bryce Olson, mine monitoring and control superintendent at the Kennecott Bingham Canyon Mine.

“We flipped the switch, and we haven’t gone backwards. We immediately started using MineStar™ Fleet’s open assignment, load-haul-dump, and auto fuel advanced features,” added Olson.

Cat MineStar™ Fleet management system automatically records and tracks data up and down a mine’s value chain, providing insights that help miners identify what is working and fix what is not to meet production targets. Fleet allows miners to view the entire operation at a glance on a computer and gain insights into key cost drivers — such as fuel, tires, service parts, and idle time — and improve haul fleet production and shovel utilization.

With 2022 sales and revenues of $59.4 billion, Caterpillar Inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. For nearly 100 years, they’ve been helping customers build a better, more sustainable world and are committed and contributing to a reduced carbon future. Their innovative products and services, backed by our global dealer network, provide exceptional value that helps customers succeed. Caterpillar does business on every continent, principally operating through three primary segments — construction industries, resource industries, and energy & transportation — and providing financing and related services through our financial products segment.

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