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The first autonomous truck training facility in the southern hemisphere will be built in Collie and is expected to attract more than 300 students to the South West town each year as it transitions to life after coal. Announced this morning, the WesTrac facility is expected to draw visitors from around the world interested in advancing the automation of mining operations. The McGowan Government has tipped $2.7 million into the project, to be based at the Coolangatta Industrial Estate, from its $20 million Collie Futures Fund. The centre will be only the second Caterpillar autonomous training facility in the world and will be modelled on the company’s own training and testing ground in Arizona. Local contractor Piacentini & Son will build the facility, which is expected to welcome its first crop of students, who will learn how to maintain and operate autonomous mining vehicles, in May 2020. Source: The West Australia, 23 January 2020. https://thewest.com.au/business/mining/collie-named-site-for-caterpilla