Rio Tinto and China’s SPIC partner to test electric mining trucks with battery swapping
Mining giant Rio Tinto will partner with China’s State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) to demonstrate battery-swap-capable electric haul trucks at the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.
The technology is already in use on haul trucks in mining operations in China, and this collaboration will enable Rio Tinto to demonstrate a complete battery-electric truck and charging ecosystem.
The two-year project will demonstrate 8 mining haul trucks (91-tonne payload), 13 batteries (800 kWh), and a robotic battery swap and charging station. Technical experts from Rio Tinto and Oyu Tolgoi have worked closely with SPIC and truck manufacturer Tonly to align the equipment design with Rio Tinto’s requirements. The trucks will perform non-production activities in the aboveground operations—specifically, tailings dam rehabilitation work and topsoil movement.
Rio Tinto operates about 700 haul trucks across its global operations, of which 100 are classified as small or medium class (100-200-tonne payload).
Each battery is expected to last up to 8 hours, depending on the work performed, and the battery swap process takes around 7 minutes.
The first truck is scheduled to arrive at Oyu Tolgoi this year and the remaining 7 trucks, along with the battery swap and charging infrastructure, will be in operation by mid-2025.
Rio Tinto Chief Decarbonisation Officer Jonathon McCarthy said: “This demonstration will allow us to explore applications for battery-swapping technology that deliver more flexibility and less downtime than current static charging technologies. This work will complement the electrification pilots of ultra-class mining haul trucks planned for the Pilbara [in Australia].”
Source: Rio Tinto