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BHP–Rio Tinto battery-electric trucks in Pilbara: haulage trial insights for engineers

December 6, 2025|

Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

BHP–Rio Tinto battery-electric trucks in Pilbara: haulage trial insights for engineers

First reported on MINING.com

30 Second Briefing

BHP and Rio Tinto have begun joint trials of two Caterpillar Early Learner 793 XE battery-electric haul trucks at BHP’s Jimblebar iron ore mine in the Pilbara, testing whether fully electric haulage can handle large-scale iron ore operations across 18 Rio Tinto mines and BHP’s Western Australia portfolio. The programme focuses on validating truck battery performance, high-capacity charging infrastructure and associated supply chains under Pilbara duty cycles. Results will determine whether the miners progress to broader trials or fleet integration as they target net zero operational emissions by 2050.

Technical Brief

  • Initial deployment is at BHP’s Jimblebar iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara.
  • Joint programme is structured so BHP and Rio Tinto make independent decisions on any fleet roll-out.
  • Testing scope explicitly includes validation of high-capacity charging infrastructure and associated logistics supply chains.
  • Operational focus is on decarbonising large ultra-class haul truck fleets currently dominated by diesel units.
  • OEM involvement (Caterpillar senior vice president–level engagement) signals alignment of truck design with miner duty cycles.
  • Collaboration model reflects an emerging pattern of multi-operator consortia to de-risk zero-emission haulage technology adoption.

Our Take

BHP’s Pilbara iron ore operations appear frequently in our 176 Mining stories, but this is one of the few where the company’s decarbonisation push (net-zero by 2050) intersects directly with mobile fleet trials, signalling that haulage is now a primary lever rather than just fixed-plant efficiency.

With Rio Tinto’s 18-mine Pilbara iron ore network involved, even a two-truck Caterpillar battery-electric trial has system-level implications: any successful duty cycle here can be replicated across one of the world’s largest integrated iron ore hubs, putting pressure on peers in Western Australia to accelerate similar pilots.

The presence of UBS alongside BHP and Rio Tinto in this piece underlines that capital markets are now tracking operational decarbonisation in iron ore as closely as they track M&A moves such as BHP’s approaches to Anglo American, which can influence the cost of capital for large-scale fleet transition programmes.

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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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