ConnectOre Research Briefing, June 2026
Mine haulage is the single largest source of emissions at most open-cut operations — and the place where decarbonisation and cost discipline converge most forcefully. Diesel haul fleets typically account for 30–80% of a mine site’s direct Scope 1 emissions, with haul trucks alone responsible for 30–50% .
A new strategic briefing published by ConnectOre — Material Movement: Haulage Electrification — examines the technologies, collaboration models, and policy settings shaping the pace of change across the mining industry.
The research marks a clear inflection point. Battery-electric haul trucks have moved from prototype to validated, on-site deployment. In late 2025, BHP, Rio Tinto and Caterpillar began trialling the first Cat 793 XE battery-electric trucks at Jimblebar in the Pilbara. Fortescue validated a 240-tonne Liebherr T 264 battery-electric truck with a 6 MW fast charger. Rio Tinto launched battery-swap trials at the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia . The era of the laboratory is over.
The briefing maps technology readiness across three innovation horizons — from available solutions such as underground BEVs, surface validation fleets and trolley assist, through to evolving platforms including dynamic in-motion charging and autonomous-electric fleet integration, and on to emerging concepts like solid-state batteries, AI fleet energy orchestration, and continuous haulage systems .
Crucially, the research finds that the hardest problems are no longer in the truck. Battery chemistry and electric drivetrains have matured. The binding constraints have shifted to the system — renewable energy supply, charging infrastructure, grid connection, capital timing, and policy settings, including Australia’s contested diesel fuel tax credit .
For the copper industry, this transition matters doubly: as a decarbonisation challenge and as a major new source of copper demand — from electric motors and cabling to charging infrastructure and renewable energy systems.
Read the full ConnectOre research briefing →
connectore.org/posts/material-movement-haulage-electrification
