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To meet the massive demand from China, iron ore mines in Western Australia are becoming automated, with driverless vehicles being operated from hundreds of miles away. We were one of the first broadcasters to be given access to the cutting-edge technology which is helping mining companies dig further, faster. Global mining company Rio Tinto has unveiled a A$518m (£327m) plan to pioneer the use of driverless trains in Australia, increasing its bet on a future where machines, rather than miners, do most of the work. The world's number two iron ore miner, which already has driverless trucks, plans to run fully-automated trains across its 1,500km (940 mile) iron-ore rail network in northwest Australia from 2014, to help boost output by 60% by 2015. The re-fitted trains will be operated like a space mission from a control room in Perth, 1,500km away, from where Rio now runs the driverless trucks. Greg Lilleyman, president of Rio Tinto's operations in the Pilbara region, told Sky News: "This isn't about job losses. "We get productivity gains, it's helping us tackle the skills shortage we have in Australia and, of course, all of this means it ends up being more cost competitive as well, keeping ahead of the game in what is a pretty tight business model." David Booth left Sheffield and its broken steel industry a few years ago. Now, he is a successful plant operator - in a mine he has never visited. He works in the air-conditioned control room, close to Perth's airport. "It is weird," he said. "It's 1,500km away what your operating, but it's good. It's technology. It's where the world's moving to I guess. "I think they have 150 autonomous trucks that are going to be here - new mines are opening, new train load outs are coming down here, it's only going to get bigger and bigger." Some 40% of the world's iron ore is produced in Australia. At least half of Rio Tinto's 500 train drivers may lose their current jobs, with the rest to be used on about one-fifth of the network that will still need drivers. But Rio says no one will be laid off as it aims to retrain workers for new roles. The race is now on to find new areas of Australia to exploit, and again technology is playing a huge part. Planes are carrying machines that measure gravitational pull, detecting mineral deposits. Inventor Dr Frank Van Kann told Sky News: "Gravity exploration isn't possible now except if you send a team into the field with an instrument on a tripod which is moved from place to place - very time-consuming, very laborious. "Whereas we can do that same measurement from a light aircraft and cover much more ground and also cover areas which are much more inaccessible than by other means." These futuristic pits have not pleased everyone. Critics say the mining boom is behind Australia's strong dollar, which is hitting manufacturing and tourism hard. The cost of living has shot up, especially in Perth where those not earning high mining salaries have to compete in a housing market inflated by the iron ore dollar. But the reality is Australia is fuelling China's expansion, and right now there is little sign of that slowing down.