Wuxi-based conveyor systems major Boton has recently reinforced its key partnerships with prominent mining companies, including Hancock Iron Ore and BHP. These collaborations aim to advance intelligent, efficient, and sustainable conveyor solutions within the mining industry.
A senior delegation from BHP recently toured China, engaging with its local teams, customers, and partners such as Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group, XCMG, and Boton. Rag Udd, BHP Chief Commercial Officer, highlighted the clarity gained regarding future opportunities and BHP’s role in shaping them. A significant milestone during this tour was the formalization of a Global Framework Agreement with Boton in Wuxi. This agreement extends their partnership beyond mere supply, focusing on co-developing advanced conveyor solutions that are more intelligent, efficient, and environmentally friendly for BHP’s operations.
To date, Boton has supplied nearly 600 km of conveyor belts to BHP’s operations in Chile and Australia. This latest agreement builds upon a comprehensive strategic collaboration initiated in 2024, which sought to integrate higher-level cooperation projects related to conveyor intelligence and green initiatives.
Rashpal Bhatti, BHP’s Global Chief Procurement Officer, also visited Wuxi in 2025 alongside Alejandro Tapia, President of Escondida copper mine. During that meeting, it was confirmed that Boton would continue to provide high-performance belting to BHP’s mines in Chile, specifically Escondida and Pampa Norte (Spence and Cerro Colorado).
Boton is actively involved in Escondida’s pioneering project for the intelligent upgrade of the overall conveyor system. This initiative incorporates AI-powered automated monitoring, X-ray digital scanning, and intelligent belt thickness measurement to establish a real-time conveyor monitoring and maintenance early warning system. The deployment of a comprehensive monitoring system and edge computing devices has created a three-dimensional early warning and protection system for mine transportation. This system provides real-time digital mapping of equipment operation status and, through big data analysis and machine learning algorithms, offers early warnings of equipment failures. This significantly reduces response times for repairs and enhances overall equipment efficiency. These advanced solutions are expected to safeguard multiple conveyor lines at the Escondida site, contributing to the mine’s operational goals of achieving greener, safer, more efficient, and cost-effective bulk material transportation.
Detailed aspects of this intelligent system include an AI-based longitudinal tearing monitoring system that uses deep learning algorithms for millimeter-level tear detection. The X-ray intelligent scanning system employs high-precision imaging technology to identify internal conveyor belt damage in real-time. An intelligent inspection robot, equipped with autonomous navigation and multi-sensor fusion capabilities, conducts continuous 24-hour safety inspections. Furthermore, a remote monitoring system for drones utilizes 5G transmission and AI image recognition to provide comprehensive, three-dimensional surveillance of the transportation system.
Collaboration with Hancock Iron Ore
Recently, a delegation led by Greg Hawkins, Chief Commercial Officer of Hancock Iron Ore (formerly Roy Hill), and including CEO Gerhard Veldsman, visited Boton’s headquarters. The purpose of the visit was to discuss conveyor system services, intelligent applications, and future cooperation opportunities. The team toured Boton’s Hongshan Intelligent Manufacturing Base, focusing on high-performance conveyor belts and Boton’s innovations in intelligent conveying technologies.
Boton emphasized that this visit marked another significant step in deepening the long-term partnership between the two companies. The collaboration between Boton and Hancock Iron Ore, spanning from mining and port operations in northwestern Australia to R&D and manufacturing facilities in Wuxi, China, has consistently focused on enhancing conveyor system reliability, efficient service support, and intelligent operational upgrades.
During the exchange, both parties discussed high-performance conveyor belts, system reliability, on-site service coordination, and intelligent maintenance solutions. Demonstrations included quadruped robot inspection, belt rip detection, X-ray non-destructive inspection, and automatic belt alignment technologies. These demonstrations provided the Hancock Iron Ore team with further insights into Boton’s evolution from a conveyor belt supplier to a provider of system-level service capabilities and digitalized operational support.
Since 2022, Boton has continuously supported Hancock Iron Ore’s mining and port conveyor systems with high-performance conveyor belts and related services. The collaboration has gradually expanded to include intelligent monitoring and digital management platforms. Previously, the two parties signed a Conveyor Belt and Service Partnership Agreement to strengthen collaboration across the full lifecycle management of conveyor systems. Through the deployment of intelligent monitoring equipment and digital platforms, both sides continue to explore conveyor management models centered on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) optimization, aiming to improve safety, reliability, and operational efficiency in mining operations.
