WAIO haul-truck hoist cylinders: payload and uptime gains for mine engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

First reported on Australian Mining
30 Second Briefing
BHP’s Western Australian Iron Ore (WAIO) operations are installing redesigned haul-truck hoist cylinders that allow higher average payloads per cycle, lifting total moved tonnage and adding an estimated multimillion-dollar annual revenue uplift. The new cylinders are engineered for the existing ultra-class truck fleet rather than requiring new units, targeting improved hoist reliability and reduced unplanned downtime on key production circuits. For mine engineers, the change focuses on payload optimisation and mechanical availability rather than pit redesign or fleet expansion.
Technical Brief
- For other large mining fleets, similar retrofit approaches avoid capital tied up in full truck replacements.
Our Take
BHP’s Western Australian iron ore operations are also receiving Australia’s first purpose-built battery-electric heavy-haul locomotives, signalling that incremental truck upgrades like new hoist cylinders are being layered on top of larger decarbonisation moves in the same logistics chain.
Within our mining database, BHP appears frequently in Product- and Projects-tagged pieces, suggesting that component-level changes at WAIO are part of a broader, continuous optimisation programme rather than isolated trials.
The focus on iron ore in Western Australia contrasts with BHP’s recent Xplor accelerator backing for copper, uranium and other metals, implying that while growth capital is being steered toward future-facing commodities, reliability and cost-down initiatives at mature iron ore hubs like WAIO remain a core cashflow priority.
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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