Fortescue orders XCMG electric mining equipment worth $400 million
The Fortescue contract for XCMG electric mining vehicles is potentially worth over 400 million US dollars and will be XCMG’s largest mining equipment order outside of China. The order will see over 100 battery-powered wheel loaders, bulldozers, graders, and other equipment delivered to Fortescue’s Pilbara mining operations by 2030.
The order follows on the back of numerous large-scale orders to equip the Australian mining company with a fully electric fleet across its operations. In September 2024, Fortescue and Liebherr signed a deal worth $2.8 billion US for the manufacturing and delivery of approximately 360 autonomous electric trucks, 55 electric excavators, and 60 electric dozers. A month later, the mining giant signed a deal to purchase a fleet of 30 GR8 EV electric graders from Canadian manufacturer MacLean.
Fortescue is not only electrifying its massive mining operations in Western Australia, the company is also making its operations increasingly autonomous and interconnected. The deal with Liebherr arrived on the back of previous collaboration from July 2024, rapidly working up to the point where the German companies electric dump trucks can now be fully automated.
Digital, interconnected, and electric experience seems to be a feature of this latest deal between Fortescue and XCMG. When Fortescue Metals Chief Executive Officer Dino Otranto joined XCMG Chairman Yang Dongsheng at Bauma China to announce the partnership and recognise the contract award, Mr Yang Dongsheng pointed out: “Since last year, XCMG has fully launched its “No. 1 Project” for intelligent transformation, digital transformation and networking.”
The XCMG Chairman said that the company’s focus on intelligent, digital and networking abilities drives the “shift from traditional, single-point and local informatisation to a global, full value chain and comprehensive business domain digital transformation.”
For the Chinese company, the contract comes at a good time as it readies to expand globally after previously only being active within China. “XCMG is committed to building a smart, green, and world-class company,” the Chairman stated. “As the global mining industry continues to evolve, we’re proud to be at the forefront of driving innovation in value-adding green technology and showing the world that industry can decarbonise.”
According to reports from China, XCMG is the country’s largest construction machinery manufacturer. Yesterday, we reported that BYD presented three special battery packs for electric construction machinery to enable different drive configurations. These packs will debut in vehicles manufactured by XCMG. As is usual with BYD, the packs are based on LFP cells.
Fortescue is also pioneering clean energy solutions with its operations across the board. The company is buoyed by the international boom in green tech minerals and renewable energy to supply their extraction and transport—both of which Western Australia holds in great abundance.
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