Chinese mines are electrifying their truck fleets, and enjoy massive advantages in operations costs compared to mines running diesel machines.
Autonomous (self-driven) Chinese electric trucks replace three drivers, each, which means hundreds of millions of dollars in annual cost savings that are foregone by Western mining operators.
Huawei and ZTE build the 5G telecom infrastructure, and other Chinese firms install the fast-charging technologies that enable smart mining.
Those companies are banned in most Western countries.
Closing scene, Xinjiang
Resources and links:
U.S. On-Highway Diesel Fuel Prices*(dollars per gallon)
https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/
AAA Fuel Prices
China unveils its largest pure electric mining truck with 1,400 kWh batteries
https://interestingengineering.com/transportation/china-unveils-largest-pure-electric-mining-truck
World’s first sodium-ion electric haul truck gets to work in China
https://electrek.co/2026/08/06/worlds-first-sodium-ion-electric-haul-truck-gets-to-work-in-china/
China debuts world’s first electric mining trucks with huge sodium-ion battery packs
https://thedriven.io/2026/08/10/china-debuts-worlds-first-electric-mining-trucks-with-huge-sodium-ion-battery-packs/
North China’s Yimin Mine deploys world’s first fleet of 100 5G-A connected, self-driving electric trucks
https://www.huawei.com/en/media-center/our-value/2025/driverless-trucks-yimin-mine
Cat® 793 Mining Truck
https://www.cat.com/en/_US/products/new/equipment/off-highway-trucks/mining-trucks/116620.html
How to Start a Diesel Truck in the Cold
https://dfcdiesel.com/2022/11/17/how-to-start-a-diesel-truck-in-the-cold/
Electric Mining Truck DTE145 /1,200 kWh Battery
Electric, autonomous, and there’s 800 of them: inside this week’s BIGGEST deal
https://electrek.co/2026/07/22/electric-autonomous-and-theres-800-of-them-inside-this-weeks-biggest-deal/
Backfire: Export Controls Helped Huawei and Hurt U.S. Firms
https://itif.org/publications/2025/10/27/backfire-export-controls-helped-huawei-and-hurt-us-firms/
Diesel fuel costs are blowing up American farmers. How China benefits from the coming shift
China’s “intelligent mines” are getting rid of truck drivers and diesel fuel
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