Suncor is expanding its autonomous haulage capabilities across its oil sands operations, launching its first Autonomous Operating Zone (AOZ) at Syncrude’s Mildred Lake and advancing its autonomous fleet at Base Plant.
The Mildred Lake deployment builds on Suncor’s successful introduction of autonomous haulage at Base Plant in 2024, where the company operates a fleet of around 140 autonomous trucks. Suncor says the latest milestone demonstrates how technology, operational expertise and collaboration can be combined to improve mining performance.
At Mildred Lake, 19 Caterpillar 797F mechanical-drive haul trucks, each in the 363-t-class category, have been retrofitted for autonomous operation using Caterpillar’s Command for hauling system. A further 21 trucks are planned for conversion by the end of 2026. The work is being carried out by Suncor in collaboration with Caterpillar and dealer Finning Canada.
Suncor also plans to bring its autonomous fuel module online this summer while continuing workforce training and applying lessons from the deployment. The company ultimately plans to expand the Mildred Lake autonomous haulage fleet to 70 trucks.
‘Mud Mode’ takes autonomous haulage further
At Base Plant, Suncor is also improving how autonomous trucks operate in challenging ground conditions through its Mud Mode technology.
The Base Plant operation uses a fleet of Komatsu 980E ultra-class diesel-electric haul trucks equipped with Komatsu’s FrontRunner Autonomous Haulage System (AHS). Suncor says Base Plant is home to the world’s largest ultra-class autonomous haul truck fleet at a single mining site.
Mud Mode was developed after Suncor identified an opportunity to use existing AHS and truck data to help autonomous trucks respond more effectively to soft ground and wet-weather conditions.
Mud Mode 1.0, introduced in spring 2025, focused on reducing wheel slippage during forward travel. According to Suncor, the technology significantly reduced slippage-related stoppages, supporting the movement of approximately 6 million additional tonnes and generating an estimated C$25 million in value.
The company has since introduced Mud Mode 2.0, which expands the system’s capabilities to higher speeds and reverse travel, including when trucks are positioning themselves at shovels or dumps.
The upgraded system gives trucks more time to recover traction before stopping when operating on slippery surfaces.
Suncor says the technology was particularly valuable during the unusually wet conditions experienced this spring. Since testing began in early May, Mud Mode 2.0 has improved performance by 40% compared with Mud Mode 1.0 across a range of weather conditions.
The upgraded system has now been deployed across 90% of the Komatsu autonomous fleet at Base Plant, with full implementation expected in the third quarter.
The developments at Mildred Lake and Base Plant highlight Suncor’s broader strategy of using autonomous haulage, operational data and continuous technology improvements to increase productivity, reliability and cost competitiveness across its mining operations.