Liebherr Mining provides a range of low and zero emission solutions to customers to support minesites in their decarbonisation journey. Recently, the company successfully commissioned a trolley solution in South America and continues to expand its range of electric excavators, reinforcing its leadership in sustainable mining technology.

Collahuasi trolley solution goes live in Chile
In June, Liebherr Mining commissioned a full trolley solution at Collahuasi copper mine in northern Chile. Four Liebherr T 284 360-tonne mining trucks are now operating under the project's one-kilometre trolley line. This is the first fully operational trolley line in Chile.

The delivery of this full trolley solution marks a significant achievement for Liebherr. The scope of the complete trolley solution included the engineering and manufacturing of the infrastructure, power system and the trucks' onboard hardware; implementation and commissioning on site; and training and support for Collahuasi's employees.

The trolley line's power system features two 5.5MW transformers, enabling simultaneous operation of two T 284 trucks. The design also accounts for the mine's challenging environment, including its high altitude of 4500 above sea level, strong winds and seismic activity.

"While the Collahuasi project is the first time we've delivered a full trolley solution, we've worked extensively with trolley technology," Liebherr Mining executive vice president Oliver Weiss said. "We've supplied 38 360-tonne trolley trucks in Panama, 15 360-tonne trolley trucks in Zambia and seven 100-tonne trolley trucks in Austria. The combination of this experience with our in-house expertise and close collaboration with Collahuasi resulted in this excellent outcome."

Expanding trolley technology: Liebherr Power Rail
Liebherr Mining also continues to innovate trolley technology solutions with the introduction of Liebherr Power Rail, unveiled at MINExpo 2024 and Bauma tradeshow in 2025. Liebherr Power Rail is a class-agnostic dynamic charging concept based on Liebherr's proven trolley bar technology. This system replaces traditional pantographs with a side-mounted current collector that extends to connect with a current-conducting rail. This design reduces components, simplifying installation and lowering costs, while offering enhanced flexibility for mine sites.

Complementing the hardware, Liebherr offers Trolley Navigation Assist – a semi-autonomous system that automatically extends and retracts the current collector to optimise trolley line connection time. The Assistance System also ensures consistent connection between the current collector and the rail, helping to minimise stress on operators by automating the connection and disconnection process.

Electric excavator expertise and expansion
With over 40 years of experience in electric excavator development, Liebherr Mining offers the largest range of electric mining excavators on the market. The latest addition is the electric R 9600 E Generation 8. This follows the release of the R 9600 600-tonne class excavator in 2021, which set new performance benchmarks within its class. The R 9600 E has entered serial production and is available for customers around the world.

The electric version of the R 9300, the 250-tonne class excavator, is currently in final stages of development and is set to enter serial production in 2026.

Liebherr offers two power supply management options for electric excavators: trailing cable, and the fully autonomous cable reel. The cable reel solution offers up to 300m length, is hydraulically driven and provides greater mobility of the machine with optimised safety for onsite personnel.

Electric excavators can offer lower lifecycle costs than their diesel counterparts, benefiting from reduced stress on components and improved operational efficiency.