Fortescue is making serious strides toward its Real Zero goal. The company has signed a $350 million deal with Swedish manufacturer Epiroc to acquire more than 50 autonomous electricdrill rigs, replacing diesel-powered equipment. These rigs will be operated remotely from Fortescue’s Integrated Operations Centre in Perth and are expected to eliminate 35 million litres of diesel consumption annually.
At the same time, Fortescue has begun construction on a 190MW solar farm at its Cloudbreakmine site in Western Australia. Once operational, this solar farm will generate enough renewable energy to power more than 70,000 households and cut 125 million litres of annual diesel consumption.
It’s a bold move toward decarbonization
The first of these electric drills, the Epiroc Pit Viper 271 E, has already arrived at Fortescue’s Solomon mine and is expected to drill its first hole soon. Once fully deployed, the fleet is projected to eliminate 35 million litres of diesel consumption annually and cut over 90,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
This is part of Fortescue’s broader push to swap out around 800 pieces of heavy mining equipment with zero-emissions alternatives by 2030
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