Planning is underway for the launch of Scania’s world-first fleet of autonomous in-pit mining trucks at the 100%-owned Butcherbird Manganese Mine of Element 25 Ltd (ASX:E25, OTCQX:ELMTF) in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
Scania is a leading provider of transport solutions, working alongside partners and customers to advance the shift towards a sustainable transport system.
In 2023, Scania delivered 91,652 trucks, 5,075 buses and 13,871 industrial and marine power systems to customers worldwide. The company’s net sales exceeded US$30 billion, with approximately 20% coming from services.
E25 is collaborating with Scania and Australian services provider Regroup on the world-first fleet of 11 autonomous rigid G 560 8x4 tippers, transporting manganese ore and waste material for Element 25 at Butcherbird.
Regroup is a leader in Australia's mining sector, offering comprehensive solutions that cover the full lifecycle of a project — from initial excavation to resource exportation.
The companies are aiming to start in 2025, in line with the planned expansion of E25’s flagship asset. They are currently working to finalise the details of this solution to align with the expansion.
“This is an exciting step for our company and our plans to deliver expanded operations at Butcherbird to meet our customers’ needs and as part of our HPMSM development," Element 25 managing director Justin Brown said.
"Implementing autonomous mining at Butcherbird has many productivity, safety and environmental benefits and we are thrilled to be partnering with Scania and Regroup to deliver this,”
To enhance productivity and efficiency
The implementation of autonomous mining vehicles at E25’s Butcherbird project is expected to significantly improve productivity and reduce carbon intensity.
By enhancing fuel efficiency, the autonomous fleet will offer better safety and lower costs compared to traditional mining operations. The rollout is a strategic step toward E25’s long-term vision of achieving fully electric autonomous ore haulage at the site.
“Scania in Australia has been working closely with several partners in the local mining industry over recent years to finesse our autonomous truck program in advance of this announcement,” Scania Australia managing director Manfred Streit said.
“We are delighted that this historic event, the first order globally for a fleet of Scania’s new autonomous trucks has been made by a privately-owned Australian company, which will provide these trucks for use in an Australian mining environment.”
EV deployment supports renewable energy goals
In alignment with optimising power infrastructure and planned renewable energy generation at Butcherbird, E25 will introduce a fully battery electric vehicle (BEV) in the form of a water truck.
The BEV will provide critical operational data on duty cycles and charging infrastructure, supporting the transition towards a fully electric mobile fleet in the future.
Operational benefits of automation
The automation of mining transport at Butcherbird is set to offer key improvements across safety, sustainability and efficiency. It will reduce energy demands, the mining footprint and infrastructure needs while significantly lowering operational costs.
This automation provides a competitive edge for E25’s business, enhancing operational performance and sustainability.
Regroup sees the autonomous truck fleet as the first critical stage in its path towards a zero-tailpipe emissions mining fleet future.
Regroup managing director Michael Still said, “Along with Scania, we are excited to be establishing our first fleet of autonomous vehicles in the Australian mining industry.
"It is not lost on us that we are able to collaborate with one of our key and long-standing partners in Element 25 as we look to roll this solution out across its site.
"We have always been aligned in our values in supporting industry innovation and the electrification of the global vehicle fleet. It is great that we can demonstrate this on-site.”
Plans for large-scale manganese facility
E25 plans to construct a large-scale processing facility at Butcherbird to produce 1.1 million tonnes per annum of high-quality manganese oxide concentrate, catering to customers in the downstream steel industry.
This concentrate will also serve as feedstock for E25’s battery-grade high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) facility in Louisiana, USA, in collaboration with General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Stellantis.
The HPMSM project has received strong backing from the US Department of Energy, which selected it for a US$166 million grant.