Speaking of the US election… the boss of West Australian mining giant Fortescue labelling US president-elect Donald Trump an economic pragmatist who will keep the “engine rolling” on the green energy transition.

As Trump was closing in on victory on Wednesday, Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest said the Republican leader had been positive about both green energy and fossil fuels during the election campaign, and that the company would work with whoever the American people chose.

Forrest said the biggest recent surge in investment in the US’s economy was in renewable energy.

“[Trump] is going to keep that economic engine rolling,” he predicted.

“Will he lean forward as much? I don’t know. But remember, he’s economic pragmatist, so he’s going to follow the money, and the money is going into green energy simply because it’s more competitive. I don’t expect that to change,” he said.

Forrest told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting in Perth on Wednesday that Fortescue was on track to meet its “real” zero carbon emissions target by 2030.

“We’re releasing ourselves from the hostage of fossil fuel. There will be no shortcuts. We’re not taking the easy road to this through so-called ‘net zero’ by buying offsets or using totally disproved … carbon capture and storage [technology],” he said.

The company intends to wipe out the bulk of its emissions by converting its polluting diesel guzzling heavy vehicle fleet to electric.

It signed a $4.2 billion deal with equipment manufacturer Liebherr in September for 360 mining trucks, 55 excavators and 60 bulldozers – all of them electric – that use a proprietary battery system developed and manufactured by Fortescue.

There was now “conga line” of mining executives from companies around the world expressing great interest in Fortescue’s technology, he said.

Investors avoided giving the company a “second strike” on its executive remuneration plans, backing the pay structure for the leadership team after giving them a “first strike” at last year’s AGM.