Luck Stone and Caterpillar Expand Autonomous Hauling to Two Quarry Sites

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 15, Luck Stone and Caterpillar announced that they will expand their autonomous hauling system from the Bull Run Quarry in Virginia to the Boscobel and Bealeton quarries. Both sites will deploy an autonomous hauling system based on Cat MineStar Command for hauling, marking the first application of this solution on Cat 775 off-highway trucks.

Since launching autonomous hauling in November 2024, the Bull Run Quarry has operated continuously for more than 18 months, with autonomous trucks having hauled over 3.5 million tons of material. The site previously deployed four Cat 777 autonomous mining trucks, and Caterpillar disclosed earlier this year that its autonomous hauling efficiency has reached the level of manned equipment.

The expansion will deploy Cat 775 fleets at Boscobel and Bealeton respectively, along with supporting technologies for loaders and other on-site equipment. Caterpillar will provide the autonomous hauling system for the project, while local Cat dealer Carter Machinery will be responsible for on-site support.

The Cat 775 is Caterpillar's new-generation off-highway truck. When the company unveiled the model in 2025, it made clear that autonomous driving capability was reserved from the design stage, with plans to extend MineStar Command for hauling to this platform. The new-generation 775 features a new frame structure, reducing empty vehicle weight by nearly 30% compared with the 775G and increasing body volume by approximately 10%, and is equipped with 360-degree surround-view cameras and the Cat Detect radar system.

The Bull Run project marks the first application of Caterpillar's autonomous hauling system in a quarry. The system was previously used mainly in large open-pit mines and is now expanding into sand and aggregate, quarry, and other smaller-scale material hauling scenarios. Caterpillar disclosed that its autonomous mining trucks worldwide have cumulatively hauled over 13 billion tons of material and traveled more than 455 million kilometers.