Rio Tinto and BHP Group to jointly conduct battery-electric haul truck trials at the Pilbara for sustainable mining operations

For the first time in the industry, Rio Tinto and BHP Group Limited will unite on testing a large battery-electric haul truck technology in the Pilbara, Western Australia, in a bid to integrate sustainable operational practices across mining.

Reportedly, Rio Tinto and BHP will work with manufacturers Caterpillar and Komatsu to conduct independent trials of trucks, including testing of battery and static and dynamic charging systems, to assess performance of the vehicle in the Pilbara environment.

The collaboration reflects all the companies’ individual commitment towards net zero operational greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Trials will begin with two Cat 793 haul trucks from the second half of 2024, followed by the trials of two Komatsu 930 haul trucks from 2026 at the Pilbara mine sites. The Pilbara is Australia’s and the world’s mining heartland, producing a number of minerals. In FY2020-2021, the region was the world’s second-largest producer of bauxite and the third-largest of gold. These commodities contributed around US$15 billion (A$23 billion) to the Australian economy.

The Pilbara is also famous for iron ore mining, producing over 800 billion tonnes in FY2021.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive Simon Trott said: “This collaboration brings together two leading global miners with two of the world’s biggest manufacturers of haul trucks to work on solving the critical challenge of zero-emissions haulage. There is no clear path to net zero without zero-emissions haulage, so it’s important that we work together to get there as quickly and efficiently as we can. Testing two types of battery-electric haul trucks in Pilbara conditions will provide better data, and by combining our efforts with BHP we will accelerate learning.”

He added, “As we work to repower our Pilbara operations with renewable energy, collaborations like this move us closer to solving the shared challenge of decarbonising our operations, and meeting our net zero commitments.”

BHP President Australia Geraldine Slattery commented: “Operational decarbonisation relies on breakthroughs in technology and partnerships like this will help drive our industry forward. We are thrilled to work with Rio Tinto, Caterpillar and Komatsu on these trials.”