Komatsu announces autonomous haulage project with Rio Tinto
18/01/2008

Komatsu Ltd. (President and CEO: Kunio Noji) announced today that Komatsu will provide Rio Tinto with the FrontRunner® Autonomous Haulage System for use at Rio Tinto's Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia.

This is the second FrontRunner® autonomous installation using Komatsu's flagship 930E-4 electric drive truck, as Komatsu has already supplied the first fleet to Codelco in Chile. The trucks navigate the complex mining environment to deliver a 290 metric tonne payload of overburden and ore without drivers, revolutionizing productivity and mine operations, especially at mines where it is difficult to secure sufficient manpower because of their locations.

The deployment of the FrontRunner® system to Rio Tinto further demonstrates Komatsu's ability to deliver highly engineered, cutting edge solutions with products and services to meet the challenging tasks of its customers around the world.

Kunio Noji, President and CEO, said: "We look forward to working with Rio Tinto, one of our largest mining customers, in this exciting and challenging project and other similar ventures in the future. We also see this opportunity as strengthening our long-standing relationship with Rio Tinto, as well as our commitment to the mining industry."

Rio Tinto outline

Company name : Rio Tinto plc
Established : 1873
Headquarters : London, England
Chief Executive Officer: Tom Albanese
Line of business : Exploration, mining and processing of mineral resources (such as iron ore, copper, gold, aluminium, diamonds and coal)
Gross sales revenues: US$25.4 billion (in 2006)

Contact:
Kevin Broman
Komatsu Europe International N.V.
+32 2 255 24 58
kevin.broman@komatsu.eu

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