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Incident · Collision

Autonomous Caterpillar haul truck reversed into a manned excavator at BHP's Goonyella coal mine (2023)

In August 2023 at the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance Goonyella open-pit coal mine in Queensland, Australia, a loss of communications on an autonomous circuit led a Caterpillar haul truck operating in autonomous mode to reverse into and strike a manually-operated excavator. The Queensland Mines Inspectorate reported no injuries to the worker; it prompted review of autonomous-haulage comms-loss handling.

Occurred 2023-08-01 · Cat 793F Command for Hauling at Virginia · Caterpillar · Virginia · Trucks

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Incident records on DEPLOY are compiled from public sources (regulatory filings, news reports, and operator disclosures) and reflect what has been reported and tracked to date. They are not legal findings, determinations of fault, or safety ratings, and may be updated as new information is verified. See the sources below for the underlying references.

Machine-readable surfaces

Sources (1)

  1. Mining Monthly · https://www.miningmonthly.com/technology/news-articles/1464235/implications-autonomous-truck-incident

Common questions

What happened in Autonomous Caterpillar haul truck reversed into a manned excavator at BHP's Goonyella coal mine (2023)?
In August 2023 at the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance Goonyella open-pit coal mine in Queensland, Australia, a loss of communications on an autonomous circuit led a Caterpillar haul truck operating in autonomous mode to reverse into and strike a manually-operated excavator. The Queensland Mines Inspectorate reported no injuries to the worker; it prompted review of autonomous-haulage comms-loss handling.
When did this incident occur?
The incident is recorded as occurring on August 1, 2023 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.
What robot was involved in Autonomous Caterpillar haul truck reversed into a manned excavator at BHP's Goonyella coal mine (2023)?
Cat 793F Command for Hauling by Caterpillar is the recorded robot involved in this incident at Virginia.
Has anyone responded to Autonomous Caterpillar haul truck reversed into a manned excavator at BHP's Goonyella coal mine (2023)?
No responses to this incident are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Operators, manufacturers, or affected parties can submit responses to the editorial team; absence is not a guarantee no response was issued.
What is the current status of Autonomous Caterpillar haul truck reversed into a manned excavator at BHP's Goonyella coal mine (2023)?
This incident is an active record on the DEPLOY registry; no retraction or correction has been issued.
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-14

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-14

Sources by quality tier

1
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Autonomous Caterpillar haul truck reversed into a manned excavator at BHP's Goonyella coal mine (2023).

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Canonical ID 89c81bc0-5745-490a-8e0b-282d951b2e68