UNDERGROUND LOAD AND HAUL
The company has since gone on to bolster this fleet with more TH550Bs and Toro ® LH518iB loaders, with the fleet expected to reach a total of 12 units by the end of this year – five loaders and seven LHDs.
Among the issues the company initially faced were limitations of the first generation of Sandvik batteries, battery contamination from oxidation, charging connector reliability issues, inverter failures, wheel‐end reliability challenges, power cable handling issues, construction schedule impacts from a parallel design, build and operation plan, an initial underestimation of construction scope and costs, a required learning curve for operators and new battery‐related safety scenario training.
Pichette said the company has come out the other side, though, explaining:“ Right now, operators are fighting to drive those trucks.”
The economic numbers were also backing up the decision, with a plus-39 % productivity boost compared with the diesel-powered TH545i baseline, as well as an estimated maintenance cost drop for the trucks of 50 %. This is before factoring in the mitigation of circa-6,000 tCO₂e / y and saving of around 2.2 million litres of diesel a year with the BEV fleet expansion the site is aiming to achieve.
A 12-month trial involving a Toro LH518iB battery-electric loader at Codelco’ s El Teniente mine in Chile has also indicated increases in productivity, as well as lower maintenance costs, according to a presentation at the event from Joaquin Bernier, Underground Mine Operations Superintendent at the mine.
Codelco has an aim to make most of the equipment it uses underground electric by 2030, so this trial – and those that came before it – have been key to exploring this aim.
He said the machine had observed high mechanical and automation availability during the first half of the trial to the end of April 2026. The LH518iB also posted a higher number of cycles per hour compared with similar size loaders from the six-month period in question.
The operation, which operates much of
Two 3-axle BEV prime movers with trailers have been deployed for underground ore transport at Malmberget, operating over 800- 2,500 m loops with 70-t payloads
its load and haul fleet in autonomous mode, has pushed the LH518iB to its automation heights during this period, according to Bernier, who explained that the machine was running in autonomous mode most of the time.
He concluded:“ BEV technology for loaders is fully operationally ready and totally comparable with diesel fleet. In fact, it has even better performance from several indicators.”
Integrate your fleet. Elevate your performance.
LinkOA Open Autonomy
LinkOA is Epiroc’ s OEM-agnostic automation platform unifying drilling, blasting, and haulage under one intelligent control layer. Designed to retrofit existing fleets or integrate new equipment, it enables mixed fleets to operate within a single autonomous ecosystem. Mines and quarries can think big, start small, and scale confidently without costly fleet replacement. Increase safety, improve visibility, and enhance real-time data. Proven at scale, LinkOA enables surface operations to automate with greater flexibility and productivity.
Engineering Product of the Year- 2026 Digital Engineering Awards
Learn more about LinkOA and Open Autonomy at epiroc. com.