It arrived earlier in the year and operates at the company’s Logan Point quarry next to Forsyth Barr Stadium.
"We decided to get that essentially to cut down on diesel and use the regenerating the electric truck can get going down the hill for charging the batteries," quarry manager Joe Hunter said.
"‘We’re going up the hill empty and then coming back down fully loaded so it generates its own electricity coming down the hill as opposed to burning diesel."
The XCMG electric mining dump truck cost Blackhead about $400,000.
Electric vehicle magazine EVTalk reported the truck would use 201kW at about 20kmh going up hill, while descending with a load it regenerated 176kW at about 12kmh.
Not all of the Blackhead dump truck drivers were enthusiastic about the electric truck, some preferred to stay with the diesel engine, Mr Hunter said.
"Some of them, you can’t teach them how to get out of [using] a diesel."
The electric truck takes a bigger payload than the diesel trucks — it can carry a 30-tonne load compared with 20 — but it moves at a slower speed.
