BHP says it has tasted success and will continue trials of driverless trucks.

The automated haul truck technology is an attempt to improve productivity and reduce costs, and will soon be on sites from WA across to the east coast.

BHP coal boss Dean Dalla Valle says two coal mines currently in the portfolio will test autonomous trucks, following successful trials in New Mexico.

BHP has already been running similar trucks on routes around iron ore works in the Pilbara.

“We’re looking at two opportunities in coal to do the same thing, in Queensland and NSW,” Mr Dalla Valle told News Corp media outlet The Australian.

“There’s no doubt it will happen, and I’d like to think that within 12 months we will be running trials.”

Safety and productivity have been named as the key drivers behind the push for driverless transport.

Gina Rinehart’s latest projects at Roy Hill are purpose-built to run driverless vehicles, showing their rapid uptake in WA, but the technology has only just made it to trials on the east coast.

Accenture mining program and project manager Nigel Court recently told industry media outlet Australian Mining that automation is being implemented by companies interested in change.

“Automation is now being looked to not as a panacea to fix productivity and efficiency on site”, rather “people are focusing on how it can be applied to solve specific problems encountered on site,” Mr Court said.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) has previously said it was concerned about safety issues and the state of the workforce, when robots take over.