The deployment is in collaboration with the African branch of China’s state-owned 15th Metallurgical Construction Group and is being touted as the first large-scale rollout of electric mining trucks for a single project on the continent.
“This overseas cooperation is the first of its kind and will help further upgrade local mining equipment,” said Li Wenjie, chairman of the 15th Metallurgical Construction Group’s construction trade arm in Africa.
Breton Technology, which specialises in green construction machinery, is also providing a zero-carbon mining robot system, integrating autonomous driving and clean energy technologies alongside the electric trucks.
“We believe that soon, unmanned mining fleets will be seen operating in Africa,” stated Teng Fei, head of strategy and overseas business at Breton.
The shipment is expected to arrive in Durban, South Africa, after a 20- to 25-day sea journey, before continuing overland to Zambia.
This technological advancement comes as China pledges $5 billion in investment into Zambia’s mining sector by 2031, as part of its broader Belt and Road Initiative. However, the growing Chinese presence in Zambia’s mining industry has not been without controversy.
In February 2025, a Chinese-owned copper mine operated by Sino-Metals Leach Zambia suffered a major environmental failure when a dam breach released 50 million litres of acidic waste into a tributary of the Kafue River. The incident caused pollution along more than 100 kilometres downstream, raising alarms about environmental safeguards in foreign-owned operations.
