Rio Tinto has marked the first delivery of iron ore ‘pit-to-port’ by an autonomous train.

Rio Tinto’s AutoHaul project in the Pilbara involves a driverless train dubbed the “world’s largest robot”, which is comprised of three locomotives with a carrying capacity of around 28,000 tonnes.

The company says the rig travelled over 280km from Rio Tinto’s mining operations in Tom Price to the Port of Cape Lambert.

Rio Tinto says its $940 million AutoHaul autonomous train project should be complete by the end of the year.

“This program symbolises both the pioneering spirit and innovative talents of many people across Rio Tinto and shows our absolute commitment to improving safety and productivity, as well as enabling greater flexibility across our operations,” said Rio Tinto Iron Ore managing director rail, port and core services, Ivan Vella.

“We will continue to ensure our autonomous trains operate safely under the wide range of conditions we experience in the Pilbara, where we record more than eight million kilometres of train travel each year.”

Rio Tinto runs about 200 locomotives to transport ore from 16 mines to four port terminals.

Their average journey is about 800km, typically take about 40 hours including loading and unloading time.

Rio Tinto’s AutoHaul software uses on-board cameras that send a real-time feed to the operations centre.

Rio Tinto has accreditation for the AutoHaul operation from Australia’s Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR).