China ships 31 electric mining trucks to Africa for Zambian copper mine

China sent a fleet of 31 pure electric mining trucks to Africa on Sunday, for use in a copper mining project in Zambia. 

The trucks are provided by Breton Technology, a Chinese high-tech company specialising in green construction machinery. 

They will be used by an African branch of China’s state-owned company 15th Metallurgical Construction Group. 

"The overseas cooperation [is] the first large-scale deployment of electric mining trucks at one go to a mining project in Africa. It will help further upgrade the local mining equipment", said Li Wenjie, the chairman of China 15th Metallurgical Construction Group's construction trade company in Africa.

Breton Technology is responsible for providing a zero-carbon mining robot system, including electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and clean energy technologies. 

"We believe that in the near future, unmanned mining fleets will be seen operating in Africa", said Teng Fei, head of strategy and overseas business at Breton Technology.

The mining trucks are expected to reach Durban in South Africa after a 20 to 25 days journey.

China has pledged $5 billion to Zambia’s mining industry by 2031, despite controversies surrounding the environmental and social impact of Chinese-owned mines. 

In February, a spill from a Chinese-owned copper mine contaminated a major Zambian river.

The failure of a dam at the Sino-Metals Leach Zambia mining facility allowed 50 million litres of acidic waste to be released into a stream leading to the Kafue River.

Signs of pollution were detected at least 100 kilometres downstream from the facility.