Leaders from Thiess and its companies MACA and RTL Mining and Earthworks Pty Ltd recently visited Norton Gold Fields’ Mulgarrie site in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia where Thiess, EACON Mining Technology and Norton Gold Fields Pty Ltd (owned by Zijin Mining Group) are running an autonomous technology trial.
The visit was part of the Thiess Global Summit and provided an opportunity to see two Thiess owned Komatsu HD1500 trucks, Tom and Jerry, retrofitted with EACON’s ORCASTRA® autonomous technology – in action. These are the world’s first Komatsu HD1500s retrofitted with autonomy.
Thiess: “Our leaders experienced a live demonstration of the ORCASTRA® CONDUCTOR system and explored the trucks up close. The trial demonstrates how existing haul trucks can be safely and efficiently upgraded with autonomous capability, offering flexibility and scalability for our clients. Thank you to EACON, Zijin Mining and Norton Gold Fields for your collaboration. Together, we are advancing smarter, safer mining to drive our industry forward.”
The trial recently achieved its first fully autonomous haulage test cycle without a safety driver – which Thiess added was another milestone towards creating practical, scalable pathways for autonomy in Australian operating environments. Jerry was first in late 2025, followed by Tom completing drive-by-wire validation in February, after which this unit joined Jerry in autonomous load-haul-dump test cycles. The focus is now on the trucks completing cycles and delivering special features specific to the Australian mining environment in preparation for the production trial.
EACON stated: “We were delighted to host 50 leaders from the Thiess Global Summit at our Australian retrofit project, where they experienced EACON’s autonomous haulage system firsthand. The visit included an ORCASTRA® CONDUCTOR demonstration and a closer look at the retrofit technology enabling existing haul trucks to transition toward autonomous operations. Thank you to Thiess and Norton Gold Fields Pty Ltd for the opportunity to share the progress being made on the project and the potential of retrofit autonomy for the Australian mining industry.”
EACON’s autonomous trucks have full 360 degree perception, using multiple LiDARs and forward-, rear- and side-facing cameras to continuously monitor their surroundings. This enables precise navigation, obstacle detection and safe operation in complex mining environments – including maintaining reliable awareness even in poor visual conditions.
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