Caterpillar Inc has announced an agreement with Carmeuse, a global leader in lime and limestone production, to deploy Caterpillar’s autonomous hauling solution at the Carmeuse Drummond Island quarry in Drummond, Michigan. Delivered by Caterpillar and supported by Fabick Cat, Carmeuse will integrate Cat® MineStar™ Command for hauling across its fleet of 777 dump trucks, alongside complementary MineStar capabilities for loaders and staff-supported equipment.
“We are proud to partner with Caterpillar on this journey into autonomous haulage. Caterpillar’s proven technology and expertise, combined with Carmeuse’s operational excellence, create a powerful platform to elevate us to new production horizons. This deployment reflects Carmeuse’s commitment to innovation and utilising technology to future-proof our operations,” said Todd Sheffer, Vice President Engineering at Carmeuse.
“Our autonomous solutions are tackling the quarry industry’s most pressing challenges by raising the bar on safety while enabling consistent, efficient production. Our advanced technology will help take Carmeuse’s operations to the next level with greater safety, performance and positioning for the future,” said John Shanahan, Senior Vice President of Resource Industries Sales, Services & Technology at Caterpillar.
Building on Caterpillar’s success deploying autonomous systems in real‑world environments, including mining and quarries, it says the project highlights the company’s ongoing commitment to accelerate its autonomous technology to help customers solve their toughest challenges. Caterpillar added: “This work reflects deep collaboration across teams and expertise. Thoughtful autonomy in quarry operations is advancing safety, consistency and productivity to help protect people and strengthen performance onsite.”
Drummond Island is a 2,500-acre quarry located one-mile east of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula across Lake Huron’s De Tour Passage, and produces around 2.5 million tons a year of dolomite which is primarily used in the steel, agricultural, and construction industries. The dolomite is hauled by truck to the primary crushing and screening plant on the coast four miles to the west from where it shipped from a dedicated freighter loading facility.
This is the most significant public announcement for Caterpillar Command for hauling in relation to the quarrying and industrial minerals market since its collaboration with Luck Stone to deploy Caterpillar’s autonomous solution at Luck Stone’s Bull Run Plant, which was first announced in 2022 and also involves a fleet of 777 trucks. In November 2024, the autonomous solution achieved the ‘Go-Live’ milestone at Luck Stone, By July 2025 the fleet of autonomous Cat 777s reached the 1 million tons hauled mark, and within the first year the site has hauled over 2 million tons with Command for hauling at their single-shift operation, with no reported safety injuries.
Source: im-mining.com
