Electric haulage is now the preferred option in most new mine trade-off studies, with Mining Plus modelling showing battery-electric trucks and Railveyor’s cable-powered rail haulage often outperforming diesel on both unit cost and emissions over life-of-mine. Tim Wiitanen, Railveyor Vice-President of Product Engineering, notes that orebody geometry, ramp length and gradient, power price, and ventilation constraints remain the decisive variables in choosing between BEVs and fixed-guideway systems. For engineers, the work signals that early-stage layouts and power strategies must be optimised explicitly for electric haulage.

Volvo Days 2026 in Eskilstuna is showcasing Volvo CE’s strategy for mining, with senior management outlining investment priorities in electric and autonomous haulage fleets and digital fleet management platforms. Demonstrations are expected to centre on battery-electric articulated haulers, trolley-assist concepts and connected machine monitoring, building on existing deployments in Scandinavian quarrying and underground operations. For mine operators, the focus is on lowering diesel consumption and emissions while integrating OEM telematics with site dispatch and maintenance systems to improve equipment availability and haul cycle control.

PLS’ Pilgangoora P1000 expansion in Western Australia has pushed TOMRA sensor-based ore sorting from trial phase to fully integrated unit operation in day-to-day hard rock lithium processing, after several years of continuous running. The industrial-scale installation is now delivering consistent spodumene feed quality and demonstrating stable performance under variable ore conditions, giving Pilgangoora greater long-term resource flexibility. For other lithium pegmatite projects, the case validates sensor-based sorting as a viable front-end circuit option to debottleneck plants and upgrade marginal ore.