A fleet of 100-ton (90-tonne) class Cat 777G rigid dump trucks (RDTs) at Luck Stone’s Bull Run plant in Chantilly, Virginia, will be fitted with the Cat MineStar Command for Hauling system. The landmark partnership will allow Caterpillar to gain greater insight into quarry operations to tailor its next generation of autonomous solutions specific to quarry and aggregate applications.
The Caterpillar-Luck Stone tie-in also supports the acceleration of autonomous technology for operations with fewer mobile assets to allow a step change in safety and productivity, as currently experienced at large mining operations.
“The Luck Stone and Caterpillar’s partnership has been grounded in shared values for many years,” said Charlie Luck, President and CEO of Luck Companies. “Together, we believe that safety, innovation, and a commitment to people are critical to propelling important projects like this and ensuring our focus on the future, and all of the exciting possibilities technology affords our industry. Our collaboration will provide opportunities for associates to learn and grow, improve safety and result in production efficiencies. We are thrilled to partner with Caterpillar to achieve this ‘first’ for our industry.”
“Caterpillar has a long-standing relationship with Luck Stone, and we look forward to working together to bring the demonstrated benefits of increased safety and productivity to the quarry industry. We’re excited to get in the dirt and work alongside Luck Stone’s innovative team, so we can learn how to scale our already proven mining solution for another industry,” said Denise Johnson, Caterpillar Group President of Resource Industries.
The groundbreaking Caterpillar-Luck Stone project, which will see the first autonomous Cat 777G RDTs operating at Bull Run in 2024, builds on Caterpillar’s long history in autonomy and automation. The US manufacturing giant is recognised as an off-highway machine technology leader with the world’s largest fleet of autonomous haul trucks, now numbering more than 560 trucks. These trucks have travelled more than 187 million kilometres and autonomously moved more than 5.1 billion tonnes, most notably, without a single zero lost-time injury. The Cat 777G is a new addition to Caterpillar's autonomous haulage fleet. The fleet also features the 190- to 370-tonne (210- to 410-ton) class sizes, the Cat 789D, 793D, 793F, 797F, and electric drive 794 AC.
