EACON Mining Technology has commenced a project to deploy 400 autonomous haulage trucks at Guanghui Energy’s Baishihu open pit coal mine in northwest China. Guanghui Energy is a major Chinese energy and mining company, operating a wide range of coal, gas, and logistics assets.
This operation sets a new global benchmark for autonomous deployments, reinforcing EACON’s leadership in large scale autonomous mining solutions. Nearly 200 trucks are already in operation with the full fleet of 400 set to be deployed here in the coming month.
The project was delivered in collaboration with Mingyang and Huaye, regional mining contractors operating with mine owners for fleet operation and infrastructure development in northwest China. The project involves low-emission, hybrid-electric trucks manufactured by LGMG and Tonly. These trucks are deployed for overburden removal with current loaded uphill distances of 3 km, and potential extensions to 10 km in the future.
Located in the harsh and complex terrain of northwest China, the Baishihu mine faces extreme conditions including narrow dump and load areas, and wind speeds of up to 102 km/h. EACON’s autonomous haulage system, ORCASTRA®, is engineered to withstand and adapt to these extremes. By leveraging highly developed 360º perception and onboard decision making, the system delivers safer, more reliable and consistent production outcomes.
Guanghui Energy, which already operates a fleet of 1,600 vehicles at the Baishihu mine, engaged EACON to engineer priority rules including left hand drive and giving way to the left into their autonomous solution at the mine. This practice, similar to traffic management in Australian mining, was implemented to enhance safety in the pit. The customised configuration, delivered rapidly, highlights EACON’s technical agility and strong customer alignment.
Guanghui Energy’s large-scale adoption of EACON’s autonomous technology EACON says signals a bold commitment to innovation and confidence in system performance. “As deployment progresses, the operation is set to unlock major gains – from reduced fuel consumption via intelligent path planning to enhanced safety by removing operators from high-risk areas.”
With the mine expected to produce 40-50 Mt of coal in 2025, EACON’s solution promotes greener, more efficient mining that aligns with Guanghui’s emissions targets.
Cangbao Su, Safety Director of Baishihu, observed that since introducing autonomous trucks, the site has seen a clear reduction in safety risks, with mining operations becoming notably more intelligent and efficient. Precision vehicle control and the removal of operators from hazardous zones are helping to create a safer and more streamlined work environment.
“While many in the OEM-agnostic autonomy space remain focused on small-scale operations, we’ve advanced to large-scale, repeatable deployments,” said Elaine Jin, COO of EACON Mining Technology. “Proven in China’s highly complex mining environments, our work with Guanghui demonstrates the product’s maturity and represents a significant step towards intelligent mining, improving safety, efficiency, and reducing risks to human operators in harsh environments.”
EACON and Guanghui Energy are collaborating on another major autonomous deployment at the Malang coal mine, which has recently become fully operational as well.
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