BHP's WA Iron Ore business started a drone-in-a-box trial at South Flank in September 2025. A year on, HubX units at South Flank and Newman support multiple teams, with every flight piloted from Sphere's Sydney-based Remote Operations Centre.
BHP's Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) business now captures survey data and checks site conditions in its Pilbara pits without sending anyone to drive there. HubX® drone-in-a-box units at South Flank and Newman fly on request, and Sphere's Sydney-based Remote Operations Centre pilots the flights.
What started as a trial at South Flank in September 2025 is now becoming a WAIO-wide capability.
For BHP's surveyors, driving to in-pit and remote locations was one of the biggest overheads in the job. Every trip put people on haul roads alongside heavy vehicles and delayed the data.
The survey-led trial had to show that a dock-based drone could:
HubX is an Australian-built, off-grid trailer carrying a DJI Dock 3, solar panels and battery storage. With its own power and internet, it goes where the data is needed.
Flights are piloted beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) from Sphere's Remote Operations Centre, whose pilots hold a CASA ReOC and Broad Area BVLOS approval. One centre services every aircraft in BHP's program, so a new site doesn't need more pilots in the field.
After a radar alarm at South Flank, the team didn't send people into the pit. They launched the drone remotely and live streamed the area, giving the geotechnical team a safer, quicker look.
HubX bonds SIMs from multiple carriers with Starlink and keeps every link active. When Telstra went down nationally on 8 July 2026, BHP's missions kept flying.
"Despite the nation wide telecom outage, Sphere remained operational and continued providing critical drone support without compromising safety."
Shaun Van Goor, RPA Specialist and Project Surveyor, BHP
Within a year, the trial became an operational capability, with more systems now across the Pilbara.
"What started as a trial is now becoming a WAIO-wide deployment."
As a result, BHP gained:
Next, BHP is working with mine control on using drone-in-a-box to clear ODS events faster and improve autonomous haul truck cycle times.
HubX needs no site power, network or construction, so a new site mostly means positioning the trailer and extending airspace approvals.
The catch is that the hardware is the easy part. Scale came from BHP's teams building the data into their workflows, which takes a champion on site.
Video and quotes courtesy of BHP.
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