Australian mining company Fortescue is making headlines again, after placing a massive, $400 million order for more than 100 new electrical equipment from Chinese heavy machinery company XCMG (Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group). The deal is the largest single resource export deal in XCMG's history.
The $400 million contract also marks XCMG's largest mining equipment program ever, and will see a range of heavy-duty electric equipment including electric wheel loaders, electric dozers, electric trucks (or “prime movers” in Euro-speak), and electrical graders. delivered to Fortescue's Pilbara mining operations in phases between 2025 and 2030.
Fortescue says the use of the equipment will remove millions of gallons of diesel fuel from the company's steel operations over the life of the equipment, helping to reduce the world's demand for diesel even further.
“We are moving rapidly to decarbonize our Pilbara iron ore operations and to phase out our Scope 1 and 2 emissions from the world by 2030. other ways of not emitting gas,” explained the CEO of Fortescue Metals, Dino Otranto. “As the global mining industry continues to evolve, we are proud to be at the forefront of advancing the development of green technologies and showing the world that the industry can decarbonize.”
We have written about how the increase in demand for nickel, lithium, and phosphates around the world combined with the environmental benefits of electrification is driving the adoption of electric mining equipment – but this mine is different, as its main product, iron ore, has much wider applications beyond electrification. Therefore, it is arguably the most important mine electrification project currently underway.
XCMG, on the other hand, is embracing electrification across its product lines. “XCMG is dedicated to (long-term) sustainable development, providing high-quality, smart and green 'product + environment' cycle solutions to global customers,” XCMG Chairman Yang Dongsheng said at Bauma China in announcing the Fortescue contract award. . “The company has achieved green energy across its product range, with new energy products accounting for 18 percent of revenue, leading to a green and low-carbon industry transition.”
Electrek's Take
With billions of dollars on the line and pressure to reduce carbon emissions from all sides, it should come as no surprise that the race is on to bring efficient, electric, and autonomous heavy mining equipment to market. At CES 2024, electric vehicles from Hyundai, Bobcat, Volvo CE, and Caterpillar received a lot of attention for their new ideas, and analysts like IDTechEx estimate that a single 150-ton truck can use more than $850,000 worth of fuel in one year.
Meanwhile, large electric trucks like this 240-ton unit from Caterpillar, in some applications with high rates of regenerative braking, operate without significant recharging costs. Meanwhile, the reduced maintenance and downtime of BEVs compared to diesel vehicles is icing on the TCO cake.
We spoke to the management of Fortescue Zero last month in an exclusive interview episode Fast Charging. Check it out, below, and let us know what you think of this heavy dollar deal in the comments.
Quick Charge Fortescue interview
SOURCE | PHOTOS: Fortescue.
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