EACON Mining has recently secured a commercial order from the Zijinshan copper-gold mine and will deliver the autonomous system on the battery-powered XCMG EX80 base truck – further demonstrating its OEM-agnostic flexibility.

Zijinshan copper-gold mine, the birthplace and core operation of Zijin Mining, began operations in 1993 and has a remaining lifespan of 20 years. The gold deposit is located in the upper oxidation zone, while the copper deposit lies in the lower primary zone. In 2021, the mine reached its carbon peak and is now working towards full carbon neutrality by 2030.

By September 2024, electric vehicles accounted for 45% of Zijinshan’s fleet, all of which support both static charging and battery swapping. The battery swap station, built by Zijin Mining and State Grid Corporation of China and launched in September 2023, can service a truck in just 8 minutes and has an annual battery charging capacity of 12 million kWh.

EACON secured the commercial order at this copper-gold mine after successfully showcasing its capabilities in the previous Proof of Concept (POC) project that concluded in early 2024, which featured the EY90E – another battery electric model introduced in collaboration with Yutong.

In the first phase of this autonomous haulage project at Zijinshan, EACON is deploying the new XCMG EX80, which is equipped with EACON’s advanced Autonomous Haulage Solutions (AHS) hardware and supports both static charging and battery swapping. Engineers from XCMG and EACON have aligned on the drive-by-wire system requirements, and the OEM has modified the base model to integrate EACON’s AHS features and adopted EACON-designed data interfaces. Currently, EACON’s team is on-site at Zijinshan, fine-tuning and testing the truck’s control functions.

EACON says its complete suite of AHS capabilities – including the fleet management system, ORCASTRA® Conductor, the onboard autonomy system ORCASTRA® Pilot, and the safety and task collaboration system on ancillary equipment, ORCASTRA® Crew – are fully OEM-agnostic and power-agnostic, as validated by successful partnerships with Yutong, Tonly, LGMG, and now XCMG across various models and commodities.

The technology company concludes: “Partnership with OEMs is a key ingredient in EACON’s recipe for success. Looking ahead, EACON will remain committed to its mission of reshaping mining, creating a cleaner, more sustainable future by joining forces with all its partners.”