World’s largest mixed‑fleet autonomous mining operation goes live at Roy Hill

Epiroc AB has converted all 78 haul trucks at Hancock Iron Ore’s Roy Hill mine in the Pilbara from manual operation to fully driverless using its LinkOA system. These conversions mark a key step toward building the world’s largest OEM‑agnostic autonomous mine.

Working closely with Hancock Iron Ore toward that shared goal, Epiroc has completed conversions on 78 trucks, with 60 already assigned to autonomous duty. The team will next bring the remaining trucks online and finish enabling communications for the mine’s ancillary vehicles. LinkOA works across manufacturers, so it is OEM‑agnostic. The autonomous fleet will ultimately include 54 Caterpillar 793F units and 24 Hitachi EH5000 units.

Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s president and CEO, stated: "Hancock Iron Ore is at the absolute forefront of mining automation, and we are happy to play a key role in their success. It’s very exciting to see the major progress done on this ground-breaking project, which represents a major step forward for autonomous mining globally.”

Hancock Iron Ore (HIO), formed this year when Hancock’s Atlas Iron and Roy Hill combined, selected Epiroc to lead autonomous haulage at Roy Hill under the leadership of Executive Chairman Dr Gina Rinehart AO and Executive Director Tad Watroba, Gerhard Veldsman, HIO CEO, said. “Interoperability opens productivity and safety benefits to many more, an outcome we can all be proud to have been part of.”

The autonomous trucks use Epiroc’s LinkOA traffic management and onboard automation to follow Roy Hill’s virtual mine map and to communicate with ancillary vehicles and the Remote Operations Centre (ROC) about 1,100 km away in Perth. LinkOA has enabled autonomous movement of more than 250 million tonnes and about six million kilometres of travel—over 150 circumnavigations of the globe—delivering consistent performance that redefines surface mining capability.

With most conversions already operating autonomously, Epiroc and Hancock are on schedule to bring all trucks and ancillary vehicles online by December 2025, completing the largest OEM‑agnostic autonomous haulage system in the world.

Robust connectivity underpins the effort; Radlink implemented the communications network in preparation for AHS operations and was fully acquired by Epiroc earlier this year.

In August, Epiroc earned Hancock Iron Ore’s 2025 Innovation Award for its central role in the autonomous haulage project, which demonstrated exceptional scale, safety and technological achievement. In Q3 2025 Epiroc recorded about MSEK 300 in revenue from the project and expects ongoing annual recurring revenues as it offers the mixed‑fleet solution to other miners.

 Learn more at www.EpirocGroup.com