The mining industry has some of the biggest and toughest vehicles in the world and they are going all electric.

Now a massive, new all-electric 40-tonne truck has been unveiled to bring zero-emission vehicles to underground mining.

More industries are starting to see the advantages of electric propulsion and they are implementing it in new vehicles.

Artisan Vehicles, based in California and Kirkland Lake, Ontario, saw that and decided to develop new electric vehicles for the mining industry.

Earlier this month, they unveiled the Z40, a battery-electric 40-tonne underground haul truck.

Mike Kasaba, Artisan’s CEO, commented on the announcement:

“It’s been a busy year for Artisan. We are astonished and thankful for the reception we have received both locally and throughout the mining industry. It’s clear that the mining industry is ready for the transformation that we are enabling.”

The Z40 is equipped with 4 electric motors and it comes with a battery swap system to effortlessly change the battery pack and extend the operation time of the vehicle and make it comparable to a diesel truck.

They also redesigned the underground haul truck from the ground up to be much smaller than a typical 40-tonne truck.

With its all-electric powertrain, Artisan Vehicles claims that the Z40 has “almost twice the peak horsepower of a comparable diesel machine and it generates only 1/8th the heat of its diesel equivalent” while producing zero poisonous diesel emissions.

The vehicle will be used at the Kirkland Lake Gold mine. Tony Makuch, CEO of the mine, commented on the launch of the new vehicle:

“The Z40 is a game changer for our Macassa mine site. Being able to haul significantly more ore in each truckload means more production with a smaller truck fleet. This truck is a critical part of our expansion plans here in Kirkland Lake.”

Here’s a video of the launch:

Artisan Vehicles is not the only company working toward electrifying the mining industry.

Last year, we reported on a dumper truck that became the world’s largest electric vehicle with a massive 700 kWh battery pack.

Electrek’s Take

The electrification effort in the mining industry is especially interesting since the advent of electric vehicles requires larger mining efforts for minerals like nickel, cobalt, lithium, and others.

By expanding the exploitation of those resources with zero-emission vehicles, it will actually reduce the impact of making other electric vehicles.

Of course, the impact is even greater when accounting for other mining operations, but it’s an interesting added bonus.

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