On February 23, Australian iron ore giant Rio Tinto announced that it is expanding its ‘Mine of the Future' program to develop new equipment and systems for deep underground mines and has selected three partners to work on the project. Aker Wirth, an equipment supplier serving the energy sector for oil and gas drilling products as well as mining and civil construction products for the industry, and Atlas Copco, an international supplier of compressors, construction and mining equipment, power tools and assembly systems, will individually work with Rio Tinto to develop two new tunneling concepts. Meanwhile, Herrenknecht, a technology and market leader in mechanized tunneling, will work with the group on the development of a new shaft boring machine.
Rio Tinto's ‘Mine of the Future' program was unveiled in January 2008 and initially focused on the Group's Pilbara iron ore operations. The program is designed to create next generation technologies for mining operations that result in greater efficiency, lower production costs, improved health, safety and environmental performance, and more attractive working conditions.