Zijin Longking announces battery electric mining truck milestones

On May 9, the first production line Zijin Longking LK220E battery electric mining trucks left the company factory in Longyang City, Fujian Province, China, plus there was a signing ceremony for a new contract relating to the larger battery electric LK350E.

The Zijin Longking factory is located in Longjing Smart Environmental Protection Industrial Park, and the company said its pure electric mining trucks have now achieved a major leap from prototype to batch delivery.

Given Zijin Mining’s ownership of Fujian Longking Environmental Protection, in April 2026, the company said that “due to the advancement of strategic transformation and optimisation of business structure, in order to match the company name with the actual operation and development strategy,” it was changing the company name to Zijin Longking Environmental Protection New Energy Co Ltd; or Zijin Longking as the short form.

Since Zijin Mining became the controlling shareholder of the company in 2022, it says it has established and promoted a dual-engine strategic transformation of ‘environmental protection + new energy.” While consolidating its traditional environmental protection business advantages, the company adds that it has accelerated the implementation of landmark projects in the new energy business, making significant investments in green electricity, new energy mining trucks, and energy storage cells.

It adds that the environmental protection + new energy dual-engine strategic development direction, plus the name change, highlight the core position of the new energy business and its synergistic advantages with Zijin Mining, and will enhance its market influence and recognition, and improve investors’ understanding of the company’s business structure.

The new battery LK220E mining trucks have a 140 t payload and are bound for Zijin Mining’s Julong Copper Mine in Tibet, China – a transportation distance of more than 5,000 km and an average altitude at the mining complex of 5,300 m. Since February this year, the Zijin Longking LK220E has been put into testing operations at Zijinshan Gold and Copper Mine in Shanghang County, Longyan, Fujian Province – about 75 km to the west of the Zijin Longking factory, as well as Julong Copper Mine.

Zijin Longking says that the on-site operation data shows that a stable daily transportation volume of the LK220E exceeding 2,000 t, with availability exceeding 90%, and a transportation energy consumption reduction of more than 17% compared with similar class electric mining trucks. The company states: “In view of the extremely complex working conditions of Tibet’s Julong Copper Mine, Zijin Longking has successfully broken through the problem of heavy-duty continuous operation in complex environments such as high altitude, very cold conditions and steep slopes through precise design, filling the gap in plateau large-tonnage pure electric mining dump truck products, which has significant environmental protection and economic benefits.”

The LK220E has a dual rear axle central independent drive design, which Zijin Longking says brings stable high-speed operation capability, while significantly reducing maintenance costs. It adds that being able to use Zijin Mining’s more than 30 global mines as innovation testing grounds is accelerating product iteration and maturation.

Based on the stable operation and excellent performance of LK220E, Julong Copper has also signed a purchase contract with Zijin Longking for the 230 t class LK350E electric mining truck. As the flagship product of Zijin Longking’s new generation range, the LK350E electric mining truck it says is specially tailored for high-intensity operations in ultra-large open-pit mines, equipped with patented frame, customised power endurance systems and high-altitude adaptation core components, “fully adapting to harsh operating environments such as plateaus, steep slopes, and heavy loads, and can fully meet the needs of all-weather continuous and efficient operation in mines.”

At the ceremony, Zijin Longking President Huang Wei expressed his sincere thanks to Zijin Mining Group and Julong Copper for its sincere trust and support. He said that the stable and efficient operation of the LK220E at Zijinshan Gold and Copper Mine and Julong Copper Mine fully confirms the technological advancement, adaptability and good economy of the product. In addition to the LK350E, an autonomous LK110EI intelligent mining truck will also roll off the production line within the year.

Che Xian, General Manager of Julong Copper Mine, said that as the largest copper mining enterprise in China, Julong Copper has always shouldered the mission of setting a national benchmark for high plateau mines. He said Zijin Longjing’s first LK220E electric mining truck has withstood the test of complex working conditions such as plateau conditions and severe cold climate, with an energy cost nearly 80% lower than that of traditional diesel mining trucks.

The post Zijin Longking announces battery electric mining truck milestones appeared first on International Mining.

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