The TZ5Y electric dump truck is a purpose-built electric truck engineered for the punishing duty cycle of Chilean copper operations around Calama, Antofagasta, and the high plateau of the Atacama Desert. At 2400 m above sea level and higher, conventional diesel dump trucks lose roughly 15 to 20 percent of rated power to thin air, while their cooling systems strain against dust-laden, high-ambient conditions. An electric drivetrain removes the combustion penalty entirely: the LvKong motor delivers full torque from standstill and holds it through the climb back to the crusher. For a fleet running 18 to 22 round trips per shift on a pit-to-crusher loop, the energy and maintenance savings compound quickly into a lower cost per tonne moved.
Chilean miners are also under mounting pressure from the national decarbonization roadmap and from the scope-3 reporting demands of international copper buyers. Replacing the loudest, dirtiest asset on site, the haul truck, is the single highest-leverage move a mine can make. The TZ5Y pairs a large CATL LFP pack with a battery-swap architecture so that a truck can be back on the haul road in 5 to 6 minutes, eliminating the downtime that makes some operators hesitant about electrification.
Mine planners in the Antofagasta region have learned that electrification is not only an environmental story. The stable, predictable energy cost of grid or solar charging replaces the volatility of diesel supply to remote camps, where fuel must be trucked in across hundreds of kilometres of desert road. When the diesel price spikes, a battery-electric fleet is insulated. When the grid adds more solar and storage, the mine's marginal energy cost falls further. This structural advantage is why several of the largest copper producers in Chile now treat electric haulage as a core cost-reduction program rather than a pilot.
The TZ5Y is offered in the 80-tonne class with a heavy-duty LvKong drive motor rated up to 510 kW and 3200 Nm of wheel torque, the same family used across Dongfeng's mining range and proven on the related TZ3V electric dump truck in African and Asian pits. The chemistry is CATL LFP, chosen for thermal stability in hot, dusty environments and for a long, predictable cycle life under deep daily discharge.
| Parameter | TZ5Y (Chile spec) | Diesel comparator |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | CATL LFP 600 kWh | n/a |
| Drive motor | LvKong 510 kW / 3200 Nm | Diesel 380 kW gross |
| Payload class | 80 t | 80 t |
| Energy use | 1.4-1.8 kWh/km | 28-34 L diesel / 100 km |
| Range per charge | 200-280 km | n/a |
| Charge / swap | Swap 5-6 min, DC 1.5-2 h 20-80% | Refuel 10 min |
| Warranty | 8 yr / 4500 cycles | Engine rebuild 3 yr |
| FOB reference | up to USD 180,000 | USD 150,000-200,000 |
At a site altitude of 2400 m and above, the sealed electric powertrain also avoids the air-filter clogging and turbo wear that shorten diesel engine life in the Calama corridor. Operators report a quieter cabin, less vibration, and far lower scheduled maintenance. The elimination of exhaust in the pit also improves visibility and reduces the respiratory burden on shovel operators and spotters who work closest to the trucks.
The defining duty cycle for an Atacama copper mine is short, heavy, and repetitive: load at the face, climb a graded haul road, tip at the primary crusher, return empty. This is the ideal profile for an EV truck because regenerative braking recovers energy on the loaded descent and the empty return is cheap. A typical 4 km loop with a 120 m vertical gain uses about 9-11 kWh of net energy per tonne delivered when regeneration is accounted for.
With diesel at remote mine pricing and a fully utilized two-shift operation, the TZ5Y typically reaches total-cost parity against a diesel truck inside three to four years, after which the per-tonne cost keeps falling while diesel exposure disappears. The payback window shortens further when a carbon price or a buyer's low-carbon premium is applied to the copper produced, which several European and Asian smelters now offer for verified low-emission material.
A practical way to model the business case is to start from the diesel litres per tonne moved today, convert that to a cost, and then compare it with the kWh per tonne moved by the TZ5Y multiplied by your mine's delivered electricity price. Most Chilean operations find the electric figure is 30 to 50 percent lower before any maintenance saving is counted. Adding the maintenance delta, the shorter downtime from swaps, and the avoided diesel logistics cost usually closes the capital gap within the first overhaul interval of a comparable diesel fleet.
For Chilean sites we recommend a hybrid energy strategy. A fixed DC fast-charging bank of 240-360 kW per gun handles overnight and between-shift top-ups, while one or two swap bays keep trucks moving during peak production. Because the Atacama receives world-class solar irradiance, a solar PV canopy over the swap bay offsets a meaningful share of charging energy and stabilizes the mine's power draw against grid variability.
The 8-year / 4500-cycle warranty on the CATL LFP pack lines up well with a five-to-seven-year mine plan, and second-life applications such as static storage for the concentrator plant extend value after the truck is retired from haul duty. A useful design pattern is to co-locate the swap batteries with a mine microgrid: discharged packs awaiting swap can be trickle-charged by solar during the day and used as short-duration storage to shave the crusher's evening demand peak, turning a consumable into an asset.
Operators new to electrification should stage the rollout. Begin with two or three trucks and one swap bay, validate the duty-cycle model against real telemetry for 60 to 90 days, then scale the fleet and charger count in step with confirmed savings. This disciplined approach avoids over-building charging infrastructure and lets the mine prove the case to its board with hard numbers rather than vendor promises.
Transitioning a haul fleet to electric changes the operator's day. There is no engine noise to mask warning signals, so communication improves and fatigue drops on long shifts. Drivers quickly adapt to single-pedal control, where lifting off the accelerator engages strong regeneration that holds speed on the descent without riding the brake. Sites report fewer brake-related incidents and a measurable reduction in haul-road dust because the trucks no longer blast exhaust plumes across the pit.
Safety teams also value the removal of diesel fuel from the active mine layout. Fuel bowsers, spill kits, and underground tank farms are a persistent hazard; replacing them with a contained, swap-based energy system simplifies the site's risk register and lowers insurance exposure over time.
Chile is the world's leading copper producer and its mining sector is the most active EV-truck adoption market in Latin America. To plan a pilot, review the local operating environment, import duties, and corridor logistics in our Chile electric truck market guide, then size a depot around your specific pit-to-crusher distance and shift count. Our export team will model your tonnage, altitude, and grade to confirm range and battery configuration before you commit a single truck.
Ready to electrify your fleet? Contact Shaanxi Fenghan Trading — authorized Dongfeng EV truck exporter. WhatsApp: +86 153 1943 1311 | Email: sales@fenghan-trade.com | dongfengevtrucks.com
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