A production line for 5G unmanned new energy mining vehicles starts operating in Ordos. [Photo/Ordos Release]

A 5G unmanned new energy mining vehicle production line recently started operating in the city of Ordos, located in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The production line, positioned in the city's Juungar Economic Development Zone, was funded and is being operated by Inner Mongolia Tiechen Intelligence Equipment Co, with an investment of 1 billion yuan ($156.9 million).

When fully ramped up, it will produce more than 100,000 units of intelligent new energy equipment  annually.

It is said that 5G unmanned mining vehicles can be used in mines to achieve precise and smooth automatic loading, transportation, parking, autonomous obstacle avoidance and other functions.

They are also equipped with an environmental perception system, a behavior controls and positioning system and a high-precision map. These can reportedly complete high-precision operations without manned operators in accordance with mining schedules and achieve low-cost and high-efficiency mining production.

A couple of 5G unmanned new energy mining vehicles are produced by Inner Mongolia Tiechen Intelligence Equipment Co. [Photo/Ordos Release]

The vehicles mainly use electricity and hydrogen as fuel, which is much more environmentally friendly.

Although the facility has just started production, the Inner Mongolia company has already received a large number of orders from enterprises in the energy and transportation fields, according to Cui Wenyu, deputy general manager.

Moreover, the company has forged a strategic partnership with leading domestic companies in the field of new energy vehicles. It plans to successively launch products including new energy tractors, dump trucks and excavators, to provide customers with a full range of intelligent and new energy products.