Green unmanned mining trucks help Inner Mongolia slash emissions

陈小将

Some 135 range-extended unmanned mining trucks from the Zhalainuoer Coal Industry Co of State Power Investment Corporation Inner Mongolia Company, completed assembly. They were officially delivered, marking the full implementation of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region's first unmanned mining truck project, which had exceeded 100 units earlier in May. By May 15, the cluster of pure electric unmanned mining trucks was successfully put into operation, signaling the transition of China's mining autonomous driving technology from experimental phases to large-scale application, accelerating the advancement of intelligent mining construction.

These unmanned trucks can annually replace over 15,000 metric tons of diesel fuel, resulting in a reduction of 48,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions and demonstrating significant environmental and low-carbon advantages. Equipped with autonomous perception, planning, and decision-making capabilities, they also integrate intelligent dispatching, equipment monitoring platforms, and full-process automation for mining, transportation, dumping and battery swapping.

Unmanned mining trucks fully loaded with stripped soil and rock are transported to the dumping site on Saturday. [Photo by Xing Le/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Shu Yingqiu, director of Huaneng Yimin open-pit mine, said, "The power for our pure electric unmanned mining trucks is entirely sourced from photovoltaic green energy. Each truck's comprehensive transport efficiency reaches 120 percent of manual operations, operates continuously in extreme cold as low as -40 C, and meets demanding conditions such as high vibration and impact during operation."

Starting in 2024, a trial operation of 33 range-extended unmanned mining trucks was conducted through multi-party collaboration. To date, these vehicles have cumulatively traveled over 770,000 kilometers, excavated more than 5.25 million cubic meters of material, and achieved zero safety incidents, laying a solid foundation for this large-scale deployment.

Traditional open-pit coal mines, which employ single-bucket or truck intermittent processes, face challenges such as high truck numbers, transportation safety risks, and intense driver workloads. Advances in autonomous driving technology now enable large-scale application in this sector, freeing drivers from labor-intensive tasks and significantly improving safety.