By Dave Goddard Automation is often discussed in our industry as if it is a distant future or a nice-to-have enhancement. But from where I stand, full automation will become a non-negotiable standard for new mines within the next 20 years. The driver won’t be the pursuit of massive cost reductions or dramatic throughput gains. It will be something far more fundamental: labour. Why labour, not cost, will drive automation When I look across regions that have embraced autonomy earliest, a clear pattern emerges. Western Australia and the Canadian oil sands were not seeking radical cost transformation when they adopted autonomous haulage. They…