EACON is deploying 400 autonomous trucks at Guanghui Energy’s Baishihu mine in northwest China, setting a new global benchmark in large-scale mining automation.
EACON partnered with Guanghui, a major Chinese energy and mining company, as well as regional contractors Mingyang and Huaye to deploy autonomous hybrid-electric trucks manufactured by LGMG and Tonly.
Nearly 200 trucks are already operational, with the full fleet of 400 expected in the coming month.
The trucks are currently being used for overburden removal with 3km uphill hauls, which may extend to 10km.
Baishihu is located in northwest China’s extreme terrain, where narrow dump zones and wind speeds up to 102kms per hour present major operational challenges.
However, EACON’s autonomous haulage system, ORCASTRA, is designed to adapt to harsh conditions, using advanced 360-degree perception and onboard decision-making to ensure reliable and safe operations.
Guanghui, which already operates a fleet of 1600 vehicles at Baishihu, engaged EACON to integrate custom traffic rules into the system to enhance safety.
This included left-hand drive and left-side priority, similar to Australian mining protocols. This rapid, tailored configuration highlights EACON’s technical agility and strong customer alignment.
With a goal of producing 40–50 million tonnes of coal in 2025, Guanghui expects to unlock significant benefits, from reduced fuel consumption to improved safety by removing operators from high-risk areas.
Baishihu safety director Cangbao Su reported a clear reduction in safety risks and greater operational intelligence since adopting autonomy.
“While many in the OEM-agnostic autonomy space remain focused on small-scale operations, we’ve advanced to large-scale, repeatable deployments,” EACON chief operating officer Elaine Jin said.
“Our work with Guanghui demonstrates the product’s maturity and represents a significant step towards intelligent mining.”
EACON and Guanghui are also collaborating on a second autonomous deployment at the Malang coal mine in China.
EACON, founded in 2018, provides turnkey autonomous haulage solutions designed to optimise surface mining operations.
EACON’s autonomous haulage system, ORCASTRA, is fully interoperable with OEM (original equipment manufacturer) equipment and features distributed architecture underpinning ultimate adaptability for optimum performance.
Coupled with EACON’s expertise in emission-reducing powertrain solutions, we offer hybrid-electric, battery-electric, and retrofitted autonomy – driving a safer, greener future for the mining industry.
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