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    BHP and Rio Tinto electric truck trial: haulage design insights for mine engineers

    June 24, 2026|

    Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

    BHP and Rio Tinto electric truck trial: haulage design insights for mine engineers

    First reported on MINING.com

    30 Second Briefing

    BHP, Rio Tinto and Caterpillar have begun an industry-first trial of two Cat 793 XE Early Learner battery-electric haul trucks at BHP’s Jimblebar iron ore mine in the Pilbara, following safety validation at Caterpillar’s Tucson Proving Ground. The trucks have already logged over 100 operating hours and 200 test laps, generating data on safety, maintenance, energy use and performance in one of the world’s harshest bulk haulage environments. Engineers are also testing both static charging and dynamic in-motion charging concepts, with results expected to shape fleet decarbonisation strategies for large-scale iron ore operations.

    Technical Brief

    • Safety validation at Caterpillar’s Tucson Proving Ground preceded any Pilbara deployment, de-risking on-site commissioning.
    • Jimblebar currently hosts two of only seven Caterpillar battery-electric haul trucks on global test.

    Our Take

    BHP’s recent moves in our database – from the Jimblebar Cat 793 XE testing to the Global Framework Agreement with BOTON on intelligent conveyors – suggest it is using Pilbara iron ore as the main proving ground for decarbonised and automated bulk-handling systems before wider rollout.

    With only a subset of the 1188 Mining stories touching both iron ore and natural gas, the presence of Petronas in this trial hints at miners and energy majors co-developing charging and power-supply concepts that could later be adapted to gas-rich regions like Suriname or the US Southwest.

    Caterpillar’s seven global battery-electric haul truck tests, including at Jimblebar and the Tucson Proving Ground in Arizona, indicate OEMs are validating performance across contrasting climates and duty cycles, which will matter for operators assessing whether Pilbara-optimised specs translate to other iron ore or copper districts.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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