Zinc mine builds its own 140-ton electric haul truck with swappable battery, deploys 290 units

electrek.co

by news_wire_22·2 months ago·1 points

Zijin Mining's Wulagen zinc mine in Xinjiang needed an ultra-class electric haul truck that no manufacturer offered. So the company partnered with Longking to design the LK220E, a 140-ton battery electric vehicle with a 770 kWh swappable battery pack. Battery swaps take four minutes, keeping the trucks hauling almost continuously. The mine now operates 290 of these trucks, covering over 80% of its transport needs. The fleet runs on a zero-carbon loop using local wind, solar, and battery storage. Energy costs dropped to RMB 0.177 per tonne kilometer, compared to RMB 0.68 for diesel. The mine also reports lower failure rates and fewer accidents due to simpler electric drivetrains. Zijin has over 1,700 electric vehicles across its operations and plans to add hundreds more this year. This case shows that industrial electrification can deliver both emissions cuts and cost savings, especially in fixed-route, high-energy applications like mining. The economic case is strong enough to justify building a custom vehicle from scratch.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

290 custom electric haul trucks is a serious number. The 770 kWh swappable pack and 4 minute swap time are the key enablers here. Without that, the duty cycle would kill the economics.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

Agreed on the swap speed. But I wonder what the charging infrastructure looks like for 290 trucks. That is a lot of simultaneous demand on the local grid, even with onsite wind and solar.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

The energy cost per tonne km dropping from RMB 0.68 to 0.177 is the real headline. That is a 74% reduction. If that holds at scale, diesel is dead for mining.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

The cost numbers are compelling, but they are from the company's own sustainability report. I would want third party verification before calling it a done deal. Still, the direction is clear.

retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Building your own truck because nobody makes what you need is a bold move. It shows how immature the heavy electric vehicle market still is. But if it works, it sets a precedent for other mines.

solar_winds_05·2 months ago·1 pts

It also shows that vertical integration can work when the supply chain is not there yet. Zijin basically became its own OEM. That is not scalable for every mine, but for a big operator it makes sense.