The partners said the "road trains" will use Hexagon's autonomous solutions stack, which combines drive-by-wire technology with an autonomous management system to effectively orchestrate the movement of vehicles within the road train haulage process.

Paolo Guglielmini, the President and chief executive of Hexagon said the agreement with MinRes will ensure that off-road transport activities will be safer, more sustainable, and more productive.

"I'm excited to see how similar solutions can be applied in other off-road markets such as agriculture and heavy industry."

Mike Grey, Chief Executive of MinRes, added "We're excited to announce our agreement with Hexagon to deliver the world's first fleet of autonomous road trains, which will be an essential part of Onslow Iron's safe, efficient, and dust-free solution for hauling ore. Automation will remove the risk of driver fatigue, lower operating costs, and reduce fuel use and emissions. There's enormous potential for these vehicles to transform mining across the world."

Mineral Resources said in April last year that its autonomous road trains project had reached a world-first milestone, achieving a successful demonstration run of a triple-trailer, automated road train platoon with each road train hauling 300 tonnes of iron ore.

The demonstration showcased the success of the autonomous road trains pilot project, which has been underway at our Yilgarn iron ore operations since late 2021.