Partners in Performance Associate Principal Richard Horton said the business case was all important when considering automation.

"One interesting thing we've seen come out of automation is choosing the right pathway," he said. "What we see is when haulage is the constraint to making more revenue then we see the business case becoming incredibly strong. "When the load and haul fleet is not constrained and it's just a cost line item then the business case becomes slightly more challenging."

From a mine's point of view, looking at automation and optimisation of the process plant should offer the biggest bang for the buck.

After all, the process plant is usually the biggest ticket item on the site. Why not make the best use of it?