EACON Next Horizon Reception Celebrates Progress, Partnership and Global Growth_EACON Mining Technology | Autonomous Haulage Solutions

On the 14th of August, EACON Mining Technology welcomed partners, customers, investors and industry leaders to Perth for the EACON Next Horizon Reception, an evening celebrating key milestones in the company’s growth in Australia and internationally.

Bringing together representatives from across mining, technology, investment and Australia-China business, the event reflected on the progress of EACON’s autonomous haulage project with Norton Gold Fields and Thiess, marked a new partnership with XCMG Australia, and celebrated EACON’s recent listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

A New Horizon for Australia-China Cooperation

Opening the evening, James Clarke, President of the Western Australia Branch of the Australia China Business Council, reflected on how the WA-China relationship is evolving beyond its traditional foundations in resources and trade.

"What we are celebrating tonight is its next horizon: investment, technology, innovation, local capability and practical cooperation between companies on both sides."

Michael Zhou, President of the Perth Branch of the China Chamber of Commerce in Australia and Managing Director of Baosteel Resources Australia, similarly reflected on the opportunity to build on WA and China’s longstanding relationship.

"For many years, the economic relationship between China and Western Australia has been built on strong foundations in resources, investment and trade. Looking ahead, there is an opportunity to build on those foundations through technology, innovation and deeper collaboration between companies on both sides."

Autonomous Haulage in Action

The event then turned to EACON’s autonomous haulage project with Norton Gold Fields and Thiess at the Havana Pit near Kalgoorlie.

Six existing haul trucks have now been retrofitted with EACON’s autonomous haulage solution and are operating in a live production environment, progressing from controlled testing to autonomous operations across both day and night shifts.

The project builds on EACON’s extensive experience delivering autonomous haulage at scale. With more than 3400 autonomous mining trucks deployed as of August 2026, EACON has established itself as a world-leading AHS provider. The Australian project demonstrates how that experience can be adapted to existing fleets, local operating requirements and established mining processes.

For Norton Gold Fields Chief Operating Officer, Behnam Kianpour, the significance of the milestone was not simply the number of trucks operating autonomously, but the environment in which they were doing it.

"Seeing all six autonomous dump trucks deployed and operating in production was a major milestone for us. But for me, the most important thing was not just that the trucks run autonomously, it is that we were able to take the technology from a controlled environment into a real operating environment."

The project has also demonstrated a potentially more accessible pathway into autonomy. Rather than requiring a new fleet or large-scale greenfield deployment, EACON’s technology has been retrofitted to existing haul trucks and progressively integrated into an established mining operation.

“Historically, projects like this often required a large-scale operation and significant capital investment. What we have seen from this project is that there can be a more practical way to get started,” Kianpour said.

For Thiess, the project is also about building the capability and experience required to support the longer-term adoption of autonomy. As the deployment progresses, Thiess and EACON are working to support Norton Gold Fields’ transition towards increasingly self-sustaining autonomous operations, with the mine’s own teams developing the operational capability to manage the system over the longer term.

Thiess Group Executive of Assets & Autonomy, Ryan Kirkwood, said the experience gained through the project would help inform Thiess’ broader approach to autonomy.

“The experience we have gained will also form our continued investment in autonomy technology-enabled mining solutions.”

Beyond the current deployment, Kirkwood also pointed to the potential for the partnership to continue as both companies build on the lessons gained in Western Australia.

“Thiess and EACON are committed to exploring future opportunities together.”

A panel featuring representatives from Norton Gold Fields, Thiess and EACON then explored the lessons behind the deployment, from safety and workforce engagement to operational readiness and technology localisation.

As Norton Gold Fields' General Manager for Open Pits, Sina Taheri explained:

“Implementing autonomous trucks isn’t an IT or technology project, it definitely is an operational transformation project. So we need to bring everybody along – from the very frontline operators all the way to the leaders and managers.”

The discussion reinforced a key lesson from the project: successful autonomy is not simply about the trucks or technology, but how it is integrated into the wider mining operation, from workforce engagement and safety processes to the use of operational data to improve predictability and planning.

The panel also explored the disciplined approach required to move autonomy into production, with Kianpour emphasising that safety protocols, risk management and operational controls had remained non-negotiable throughout the deployment.

Expanding Industry Partnerships

The evening also marked the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between EACON Australia and XCMG Australia, establishing a framework to deepen cooperation on autonomous mining solutions.

The agreement builds on an established relationship, with more than 260 XCMG trucks already operating with EACON’s ORCASTRA autonomous driving system and over 100 additional units set to join the production fleet soon.

By combining XCMG’s mining equipment, manufacturing and electrification capabilities with EACON’s autonomous technology and deployment experience, the companies aim to explore a faster and more integrated pathway to autonomy for mining customers in Australia and other international markets.

Looking to the Next Stage

The final part of the evening focused on EACON’s listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 8 July 2026 and the company’s next stage of international growth.

The listing marked a significant milestone for a company that has grown into a major global autonomous mining technology provider, with a market capitalisation of approximately HKD 13.0–14.8 billion (AUD 2.4–2.7 billion) around the listing period.

Macquarie Capital Executive Director, Stuart Owen, whose team served as Overall Coordinator for the IPO, highlighted the connection between EACON’s listing and its growing international presence.

“The listing gives EACON a stronger platform for its next stage of international growth, and Australia shows the scale of the ambition and the team’s willingness to test itself in a market where standards and expectations are very high.”

The evening also provided an investor perspective from Regal Partners, whose Regal Funds Management business participated as a cornerstone investor in EACON’s IPO. Founded in 2004 and part of the ASX-listed Regal Partners group, Regal Funds Management is one of Australia’s leading specialist alternatives managers, with more than A$21 billion under management across long/short equities, private markets, credit and royalties, and real and natural assets.

The firm has a history of investing in differentiated technology and resource-related opportunities that can deliver structural improvements in areas such as safety, productivity and sustainability. EACON’s IPO represented Regal’s first cornerstone commitment in a Hong Kong IPO.

Regal Partners Chief Investment Officer – Asia, Zac Corones, explained what had attracted the firm to EACON:

“What stood out to us about EACON was the combination of real-world scale, technological differentiation and commercial traction.”

For Corones, EACON’s progression beyond individual pilots and into large-scale commercial operations was particularly significant.

“In short, EACON had already moved beyond pilot stage into repeatable, production-scale deployment – exactly the profile we look for.”

Closing the formal program, EACON Head of Capital Markets, Yudong Liu, connected the milestones celebrated throughout the evening:

“Hong Kong gives us the platform. Australia provides the proof. Our partners provide the ecosystem. Together, we will take EACON’s mining autonomy technology to more sites, more markets and more customers around the world.”

From six autonomous trucks operating in Western Australia to deeper OEM partnerships and a new platform for international growth, the Next Horizon Reception reflected both how far EACON has come and the opportunities ahead as it continues expanding autonomous haulage globally.