Global mining group Rio Tinto and manufacturing company Komatsu are partnering to fast-track the development and implementation of zero-emission mining haulage solutions, including haul trucks.

Rio will conduct a pre-production trial of the new equipment at one of its sites and has the option to buy some of the first trucks from Komatsu once they are commercially viable.

“Rio Tinto and Komatsu have a shared history of partnership on innovation going back to when we built the world’s largest Komatsu autonomous haulage fleet in 2008.

“Our support of a trial, and the option to buy some of the first trucks from Komatsu, underscores our shared commitment to actively collaborate on product planning, development, testing and deployment of the next generation of zero-emission mining equipment and infrastructure as we look to decarbonise our business,” Rio Tinto chief commercial officer Alf Barrios says.

Rio is also one of the first companies to join Komatsu’s newly launched Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Alliance, which has an initial target of advancing Komatsu’s power agnostic truck concept for a haulage vehicle that can run on various power sources including battery and hydrogen.

“Rio Tinto and Komatsu both recognise the critical role zero-emission haul trucks play in meeting the GHG emission reduction goals for the mining industry and the need to focus on developing practical haulage solutions.

“We are looking forward to advanced collaboration with them,” Komatsu Mining Business Division president Max Moriyama says.

Rio is also a founding patron of the Charge On Innovation Challenge, which is focused on solving the power distribution infrastructure needed to support zero-emission haul trucks.

“We know that addressing climate change effectively requires businesses, governments and society to work together. Our collaboration with Komatsu recognises the role zero-emission haul trucks will play in meeting the emission reduction goals of not only Rio Tinto, but the entire mining industry,” says Barrios.