BHP blames tech limits for climate delays exposed in leaked documents

BHP (ASX: BHP) defended its decision to delay major decarbonization projects in Western Australia, saying key battery-electric mining equipment is still not commercially viable at the scale needed for large operations.

The comments follow reports by ABC and The Guardian Australia citing leaked internal documents that showed BHP delayed or shelved billions of dollars in renewable energy and fleet electrification projects in the Pilbara. 

The exposed information revealed the world’s largest miner halted a board-approved $400-million solar-and-battery project at Jimblebar in 2023 and deferred a broader $1.3-billion renewable energy plan tied to electric haul trucks and rail operations.

A BHP spokesperson told MINING.COM the company remains committed to cutting Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels and reaching net zero by 2050. 

BHP also said it had already reduced those emissions by 36% as of June 2025, driven largely by sourcing 70% of its electricity from renewable power.

“No Australian mining operation is currently utilizing critical 240-tonne battery-electric haul trucks as the technology is not advanced enough to scale to an operational fleet,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. 

‘Not yet ready‘

BHP said despite the progress achieved so far with certain technologies, many of those the resources industry will need to achieve net zero are “not yet ready to be deployed”. It added it is trialling two battery-electric haul trucks in the Pilbara and plans to begin testing four battery-electric locomotives in coming months in partnership with equipment manufacturers.

The company’s response highlights a growing divide within the mining industry over how quickly heavy industrial operations can transition away from diesel.

While rival companies including Rio Tinto (ASX, LON: RIO) and Fortescue (ASX: FMG) are pursuing more ambitious electrification timelines, they continue to face technical and financial hurdles in replacing haul trucks, locomotives and other heavy equipment that form the backbone of large-scale mining operations.