Zijin deploys 290 custom 140-ton electric haul trucks
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- Zijin Mining co-developed the 140-ton LK220E electric haul truck with Longking after failing to find an off-the-shelf model that met the needs of its Wulagen zinc mine in Wuqia County, Xinjiang.
- The LK220E carries a 770 kWh swappable battery — which Zijin calls the world's largest swappable battery — and completes battery swaps in roughly four minutes.
- Zijin has 290 LK220E trucks operating at the mine, handling more than 80% of site transport since the first unit was publicly shown in December.
- The Wulagen mine runs on local wind, solar, and battery storage in a zero-carbon transport loop, with electric energy costs at RMB 0.177 per tonne-kilometre versus up to RMB 0.68 for diesel equivalents.
- The new trucks join more than 1,700 electric vehicles already in Zijin's broader mining fleet, with several hundred more planned by year-end on the path to net-zero operations.
- Zijin says the electric haul trucks have lower failure rates and reduced accident risk versus diesel units, citing simpler drivetrains and easier operation.
Why it matters: At Wulagen, electric haulage costs roughly a quarter of diesel per tonne-kilometre (RMB 0.177 vs. up to RMB 0.68), and Zijin says the savings bankrolled a from-scratch truck program — proof for other 24/7, fixed-route miners that the electrification payback can fund custom hardware, not just retrofits.
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