Oxbow begins trials of a 240-tonne haul truck running on trolley-assist
Overhead power lines on the steepest ramps let the truck climb on grid electricity and cut diesel use on the most punishing part of the haul.
Oxbow Mining Systems has started a 12-month field trial of its MT240E haul truck fitted with a roof-mounted pantograph, allowing it to draw power from overhead lines on a 1.8-kilometre ramp at a copper operation in Western Australia.
Trolley-assist is not new; mines in Africa and Scandinavia have used versions of it for decades. What has changed is the economics. With diesel prices volatile and mining companies under pressure to cut scope 1 emissions, the ramp — where a loaded truck burns most of its fuel — has become an obvious target.
Faster up the hill
Because the grid can supply more power than the truck's diesel engine, the MT240E climbs the ramp roughly 40% faster on the wire. Oxbow says that speed gain can reduce the number of trucks needed to move the same tonnage, which matters as much to the mine as the fuel saving itself.
The engine idles while the truck is on the line and restarts automatically when the pantograph drops at the top of the ramp. Oxbow expects diesel consumption per tonne to fall between 25% and 35% on the trial route.
“The ramp is where the money burns. If you electrify one piece of the haul, that's the piece.”
- Haul trucks
- Electrification
- Mining
