Autonomous quarrying ‘first’ for Caterpillar

Cat to collaborate with Luck Stone to scale autonomous solutions for the aggregates industry

CATERPILLAR announced today a collaboration with Luck Stone, the largest family-owned and operated producer of crushed stone, sand and gravel in the US, to deploy Caterpillar’s autonomous solution to Luck Stone’s Bull Run Quarry in Chantilly, Virginia.

This will be Caterpillar’s first autonomous deployment in the aggregates industry and will expand the company’s autonomous truck fleet to include the 90-tonne-class Cat 777.

Looking to accelerate autonomous solutions beyond mining, Caterpillar will implement their existing Cat MineStar Command for Hauling system at the Bull Run Quarry, on a fleet of 777G trucks. This will allow Caterpillar to gain greater insights on quarry operations to tailor the next generation of autonomous solutions specific to quarry and aggregate applications.

The project 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 current autonomy solutions will be implemented in 2024.

‘Luck Stone and Caterpillar’s partnership has been grounded in shared values for many years,’ said Charlie Luck, president and chief executive officer of Luck Companies. ‘Together we believe that safety, innovation, and a commitment to people are critical, not only to propelling important projects like this, but to 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.’

Denise Johnson, Caterpillar group president of resource industries, said: ‘Caterpillar have 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.’

This project builds on Caterpillar’s long history in autonomy and automation. The company is widely recognized as the industry 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 – all without a single zero lost-time injury.