May 27 (Reuters) - Top Australian miners Rio Tinto

and BHP Group ( BHP ) will work together for testing

large battery-operated electric haul truck technology in the

Pilbara region of Western Australia, Rio Tinto said on Monday.

Rio and BHP, which are targeting to achieve net zero

operational greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, will work with

manufacturers Caterpillar ( CAT ) and Komatsu ( KMTUF ) to

conduct independent trials of their battery-electric haul

trucks, Rio said in a statement.

The trials will be undertaken to assess performance and

productivity in the Pilbara environment and represent the first

stage of electric haul truck testing at BHP and Rio's Pilbara

operations.

Two Cat 793 haul trucks will be trialled from the second

half of 2024, and two Komatsu ( KMTUF ) 930 haul trucks will be tested

from 2026 under the collaboration.

"As we work to repower our Pilbara operations with renewable

energy, collaborations like this move us closer to solving the

shared challenge of decarbonising our operations, and meeting

our net zero commitments," Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive

Simon Trott said.