When comparing electric vs. diesel mining trucks, consider key factors like fuel efficiency, maintenance costs, and total cost of ownership. Electric trucks can reduce fuel costs by up to 70% and maintenance by 30-40% compared to diesel. While electric trucks have a higher upfront cost, they offer long-term savings of $2-4 million over 15-20 years due to lower operational costs and fewer repairs.

Fuel efficiency differences

The fuel efficiency between electric and diesel mining trucks is a quite strong comparison with numbers. Well, electric trucks can easily reduce their operating costs by as much as 50% for the fuel they consume. It is a lot, especially for companies that are on the run for most hours. Example: typical big diesel-powered mining trucks consume roughly 15-20 gallons an hour; with the current fuel prices of about $4 a gallon, this means between $60-$80 per hour for just fuel. After assuming that a truck runs its 4,000 hours a year, this would raise to fuel costs of $240,000 to $320,000. By contrast, electric mining trucks typically consume energy equivalent to 0.8 to 1 kWh per ton-mile. With a price of $0.12 per kWh, the cost per ton-mile translates to about $0.096-$0.12, far removed from the $60-$80 per hour referred to for diesel fuel.

Now consider maintenance costs, a critical but often ignored aspect of fuel efficiency. Diesel trucks should have extensive maintenance because they work on internal combustion engines and usually maintenance costs for a diesel truck will be above $50,000 dollars every year ranging from oil change, air filters, engine repair to other essential things. Electric trucks on the other hand have very few moving parts and as a result, tend to have maintenance costs 30-40% lower than their diesel counterparts. For example, if a mining operation has a fleet of 10 trucks, the cost of maintenance for a diesel fleet would easily run at $500,000 a year, while that of an electric fleet might not go beyond $300,000.

Range and downtime are also another consideration. Diesel trucks usually can stay in operation for 10 to 12 hours before running out of fuel; this, depending on the load and terrain, proves to be one of the major advantages when considering shifts for the long haul operations of the mining. Electric trucks, meanwhile, still need to be charged every 2 to 4 hours, depending on battery size and load weight, so even with the most advanced features in battery technology, electric trucks will require charging once every 4 hours of operation, leaving them down for about 2-3 hours of every shift. For example, the Komatsu 930E, a famous mining truck diesel model, has a fuel tank capacity of 1,000 gallons, which allows it to operate for a complete 12-hour shift without the need for refueling. In contrast, the Caterpillar 793 electric truck will require approximately 2-3 hours of charging at the 4-hour usage point.

In this case of long-term cost saving becoming clearer, the total cost of ownership is reported when you have one. An Electric mining truck, according to an International Council on Clean Transportation report, proposes that the lifetime costs might be around 30% to 40% lower than a diesel truck. Indeed, while electric trucks might have an initial higher purchase price—often 20-30% more expensive than their diesel counterparts—savings in fuel and maintenance over time would more than compensate. For instance, if an electric truck costs $1.5 million, compared to a diesel truck at $1.2 million, but saves $250,000 annually in operating costs, the payback period can be as short as 5 years, after which the operation is pure savings.

As fuel efficiency continues to be the prominent concern, it will include all other issues related to the emission concern, which will increase the importance of adopting electric vehicles for mining operations. A diesel mining truck emits approximately 20-30 tons of CO2 for every 1,000 hours of operation. Over the truck's lifetime, this adds up to more than 200 tons of CO2. Electric trucks, especially with renewable energy sources, can bring these down drastically. For instance, a battery electric mining truck running on solar-generated power could decrease its carbon footprint by up to 90% compared to a diesel truck. That allows corporations to meet their emission reductions and at the same time reinforces a sustainable image for them, something increasingly relevant to investors and customers alike.

Maintenance requirements comparison

In terms of maintenance needs electric mining trucks contrast entirely with diesel. Diesel trucks are typically very costly to maintain because of their dependence on internal combustion engines compared to electric trucks. One example of a diesel-powered truck used to mine is the almost 90 day's requirement of intensive upkeep-given, not a single dollar saves out of the wear and action parts-for oil changes, exhaust systems, repairs, and engine maintenance. Maintenance of diesel truck buggies can cost upwards of 30,000 dollars even crossing a huge range of 50,000 dollars-on the analysis of Mining Technology. Aside from the common diesel mining truck, the Caterpillar 785, whose engine needs almost constant repairs that can go from as low as about $10,000 up to $15,000 for every 1,000 hours of operation, it can blow into figures above $75,000 because the truck is operating 5,000 hours a year for maintenance only, excluding repairs and parts replacement.

In contrast, electric mining trucks are straightforward to maintain. There are far fewer moving parts like no need for oil changes, air filters, or complex exhaust systems. In service, electric motors reach an average life span of around 20,000 to 25,000 operational hours without major problems occurring. This is a significant improvement over diesel engines in that their overhauls or rebuilds are required after about 15,000 to 20,000 hours of use. Thus, the case of a Komatsu 830E diesel truck may emerge demanding a $100,000 engine rebuild following 15,000 hours of use, while an electric truck like the Caterpillar 793 electric has less frequent and simpler maintenance, which on average, achieves a 30% to 40% reduction in maintenance costs.

The absence of a transmission system is one of the main reasons that electric trucks sustain lower maintenance costs. This component is essential in diesel trucks, but it may be the most common failure mode and source of maintenance costs. Diesel-powered trucks require frequent transmission maintenance, such as fluid changes as well as potential repairs, adding up an overall cost of about $15,000 to $30,000 annually. Electric trucks, by contrast, use direct drive systems with very few wear points. All in all, they have very little restorative maintenance of an electric truck's transmission system, and this process normally costs much less than $5,000 a year. This in itself could save anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 during the life of the truck.

Repairing brakes also requires heavy, as both operation time and load have put a lot of strain on braking systems of diesel trucks. Brake repairs and replacements can cost anywhere between $10,000 and $30,000 annually based on the usage of the truck. Electric trucks utilize regenerative braking systems, which aid in prolonging the life of brakes and increasing energy efficiency. For example, regenerative braking in electric vehicle models from Tesla can help to prolong the life of brakes by almost 50%, thus lessening the different repair needs. For instance, electric trucks in this mining sector save about 20% less maintenance for brakes each year than a diesel truck would.

One of these comparisons is in the point of battery replacement costs, where it is regarded quite often as one of the negatives for electric trucks. In summary, however, advances in modern-day battery technology are getting better, and replacement costs have been steadily dropping. Battery replacement ranges between $150,000 and $250,000 for an electric mining truck today, while these batteries last upwards of 10,000 to 12,000 operating hours. Since electric trucks constitute less repair overall and considering their average lifespan of about 15 to 20 years, the total maintenance cost, with the occasional replacement of batteries, usually turns out to be quite lower than the total maintenance cost of diesel trucks.

Long-term cost analysis

With the analysis of the long-term costs of electric versus diesel mining trucks, the monetary benefits of electric mining trucks become evident. The capital costs of an electric truck could be 15-25% higher than those of a diesel truck over the life of an electric truck (around 15-20 years). A typical diesel mining truck such as the Caterpillar 785 costs roughly $1.2 million, while the electric equivalent, the Caterpillar 793 electric, could run as high as $1.5 million. This higher cost has often been the deciding factor for some operations against switching to the electric option. However, it is the long-term operational costs where electric trucks enjoy an advantage.

Electric mining trucks are quite fuel-efficient. Diesel trucks consume anywhere from 15-20 gallons of fuel per hour. Therefore, with diesel fuel prices in the area of $4 a gallon, the hourly fuel charges run about $60-80. This translates to an approximate yearly fuel expense of $240,000-$320,000 per truck over a standard operational year of 4,000 hours. Meanwhile, electric trucks would operate at an energy cost of 0.8 to 1 kWh per ton-mile. As electricity costs about $0.12 per kWh, this means that on a cost basis per ton-mile, electric trucks will be in the range of $0.096-$0.12, way lower than the diesel fuel price. So, for one truck traveling 50,000 miles per year, the annual energy cost would be $6,000-$7,500. This means about $2 million could be saved in fuel costs in 10 years compared to running the same truck on diesel.

Maintenance costs further enhance the dollar advantage of electric trucks over diesel trucks. Diesel trucks, with the complex upkeep of their internal combustion engines, require maintenance almost all the time. Some of these tasks include oil changes, air filter replacements, and heavy engine repairs. Depending on the operational conditions, annual maintenance for a diesel truck can cost $30,000 to $50,000. This equates to $500,000 per annum for 10 trucks. Electric trucks, on the other hand, stand at a striking contrast by requiring much less repair-and-maintenance money: at least 30% up to 40% less than comparable maintenance costs of diesel trucks. For example, maintenance expenditures on electric trucks like the Caterpillar 793 electric can be at least $20,000 to $30,000, saving $100,000-$200,000 a year for 10 trucks.

In every aspect of TCO costing for the long run, electric trucks greatly score a positive note. The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) in a report concluded that after taking into account the purchase price premium and offsetting savings from fuel and maintenance, electric trucks could bring about a decrease of total costs of ownership to about 30%-40% for the truck life cycle. Saving dollars 2.5 million to 4 million over 15-20 years could be saved per truck compared to diesel. In the case of a large-scale mining operation with a fleet of 50 trucks, this would be other potential savings of $125M-$200M during the lifespan of the fleet.

Another issue to be analyzed is the battery replacement cost incurred in electric trucks. While it is indeed a big expensive component (the battery pack can run you $150,000 to $250,000), such batteries usually last for 10,000 to 12,000 operational hours, which translates into about 8 to 10 years of service time. And while duly noted here as an initial contouring expense, this replacement cost is customarily eaten up by a corresponding huge fuel-and-maintenance savings incurred throughout that particular time. Furthermore, with advanced technology and price decline, battery replacement will go down. Indeed, in the last decade, battery prices have declined by 85%, with expectations that this trend will persist, making electric trucks even more viable economically.