Volvo Autonomous Solutions has completed its autonomous transport project at Boliden’s Garpenberg mine in Sweden, moving close to 700,000 tonnes of rock fill with self-driving trucks. The work was the first project delivered under a 2023 memorandum of understanding between the two companies. Volvo’s autonomous haulage system ran more than 11,000 transport cycles covering roughly 56,000 kilometers (about 34,800 miles), drawing material from an on-site quarry to reinforce a local dam and raise its wall.
Highlights
- Close to 700,000 tonnes of rock fill transported autonomously at Boliden’s Garpenberg site.
- More than 11,000 transport cycles completed, covering roughly 56,000 kilometers (about 34,800 miles).
- Material was used to reinforce a local dam and heighten the dam wall.
- The project is the first completed under the 2023 Volvo–Boliden MOU, deployed using Volvo’s Autona / earth solution.
Proving autonomous haulage at scale
The Garpenberg project marks the first milestone under a collaboration that the companies say extends to future work. Volvo Autonomous Solutions frames the result as evidence that driverless haulage can operate in active customer operations rather than test conditions.
“Autonomy has clear benefits for the mining industry, especially when it comes to removing people from hazardous environments and improving the safety and efficiency of operations. With more than 700,000 tonnes transported at Garpenberg, we have demonstrated that autonomous haulage works at scale, in real conditions and in real customer operations,” said Ingo Stuermer, CTO at V.A.S.
“We are very pleased to reach the 700,000 milestone of autonomous transports at our tailings facility in Garpenberg. Of course, we will continue to seek safe and productive solutions in partnership, with the aim of developing world-leading mining operations,” said Rikard Mäki, Head of Electrification and Automation, Boliden.
Inside the Autona / earth solution
The Garpenberg deployment runs on Autona / earth, Volvo Autonomous Solutions’ offering for mines and quarries. The solution pairs the autonomous Volvo FH for mining with Volvo’s in-house virtual driver, along with the infrastructure, operational support and maintenance needed to run autonomous transport. At Garpenberg, the autonomous Volvo FH trucks operated under the control of that virtual driver.
It is delivered as Transport-as-a-Service, a model in which V.A.S. integrates the technology into a customer’s existing operations while managing the technical complexity and regulatory compliance required for deployment.
A foundation for further collaboration
According to Volvo Autonomous Solutions, completing the Garpenberg project provides a basis for continued work with Boliden and demonstrates that autonomous transport can be competitive in certain mining operations. The companies have positioned the milestone as the first step in a broader collaboration rather than a one-off deployment.
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