Swedish mining company Boliden has collaborated with Volvo Autonomous Solutions (VAS) to implement autonomous transport solutions at its operations.

The long-term collaboration will see the deployment of Volvo’s autonomous transport solutions at Boliden's projects, starting with the Garpenberg mine in Sweden.

VAS will deliver a complete autonomous transport solution including vehicles, hardware, software, control room, repair and maintenance, and training.

The autonomous transport solution will be built on Volvo’s premium truck range and its in-house-developed virtual driver.

VAS president Nils Jaeger said: "Whether it is removing people from hazardous environments, 24/7 operations unencumbered by working hours or reducing emissions through better utilisation of resources and assets – autonomy offers several benefits that can help the mining and quarrying industry address its most pressing challenges.

“We are excited to partner with Boliden and support their journey towards a future where autonomous vehicles and humans work side by side to make Boliden's operations safer, more efficient and sustainable.”

Volvo will also provide a wheel loader to support the loading operation.

Boliden president and CEO Mikael Staffas said: "Autonomous solutions benefit both safety and productivity. The partnership with VAS is therefore of great strategic importance and we are of course delighted with the project in Garpenberg already under way.

“Demand for base metals will increase going forward, and sustainable as well as competitive solutions will be key in the value creation of mining.”

The project will commence this year with a testing and development phase followed by implementation and fully autonomous operations.