The popularity of autonomous blasthole drills is continuing to grow across surface mines, with miners taking advantage of improvements to productivity; reductions in accidents and operating costs; increased machine life and lower fuel consumption.
As of June 2026, The analyst was tracking 426 autonomous blasthole drills operating on surface mines across the globe. This figure includes both those with autonomous technology installed (i.e. with command centre) as well as running autonomously.
The largest population of autonomous drills is in Australia with 166, followed by Chile (58), Brazil (43) and Canada (38).
Fortescue accounts for the largest number of autonomous drills, followed by BHP, Anglo American, Vale and Rio Tinto.
Epiroc is the leading OEM, with Caterpillar in second place. Together these two OEMs account for over 84% of the known brands tracked by the analyst.
As of June 2026, The analyst was tracking 426 autonomous blasthole drills operating on surface mines across the globe. This figure includes both those with autonomous technology installed (i.e. with command centre) as well as running autonomously.
The largest population of autonomous drills is in Australia with 166, followed by Chile (58), Brazil (43) and Canada (38).
Fortescue accounts for the largest number of autonomous drills, followed by BHP, Anglo American, Vale and Rio Tinto.
Epiroc is the leading OEM, with Caterpillar in second place. Together these two OEMs account for over 84% of the known brands tracked by the analyst.
Key Highlights
- The largest population of autonomous drills is in Australia with 166, followed by Chile (58), Brazil (43) and Canada (38).
- Fortescue accounts for the largest number of autonomous drills, followed by BHP, Anglo American, Vale and Rio Tinto.
- Epiroc is the leading OEM, with Caterpillar in second place. Together these two OEMs account for over 84% of the known brands tracked by the analyst.
Scope
- The report analyses the development of autonomous blasthole drills in the mining industry, and specifying the exact brands and models used across each mine. Future plans for further additions or introductions of autonomous drills are included as well as details of the benefits achieved from the use of autonomous drills by miners.
Reasons to Buy
- Track the development of autonomous blasthole drills in the mining sector
- Drill down to numbers of autonomous drills by brand and model at each mine
- Compare the use of autonomous drills by mining company
- Identify the benefits achieved from the use of autonomous drills by miners
- View future plans for the introduction of autonomous drills by mine
Table of Contents
- Executive summary
- Global population of autonomous drills by mine, country, make and model
- Upcoming plans for use of autonomous surface drills
- Autonomous drills population as % of total drills by mine
- Autonomous drills population by miner, OEM and tech provider
- Automation tech provider companies-% shares, Fully autonomous vs Tele remote
- Autonomous drills population distribution by commodity and by region
- Benefits achieved from autonomous drills by miner, OEM and tech provider
- Key developments
- Major autonomy technology providers Profiles
- Key drill models
- Contact the Publisher
Companies Mentioned (Partial List)
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- Anglo American Plc Fortescue Ltd BHP Group Ltd Rio Tinto
- Vale SA
- Newmont Corp
- Epiroc
- Caterpillar
- Sandvik
- Flanders
- Shanghai Boonray Intelligent Technology
