Have you ever wondered how large pieces of rocks are removed and transferred from one site to another, and what are the right kind of heavy equipment that are supposed to be used to do this task? Well, this article will be explaining them all. These heavy equipment are called earthmoving and mining equipment, and each have specific application depending on the need.
Surface mining uses equipment such as drills, electric shovels, giant draglines, also mass excavators, whereas underground mining equipment is used to move material in a cramped environment.
Articulating Truck
Source: Empire CAT
Articulated Trucks have hinges between the cab and dump box, but are different from semi-trailer trucks since the cab is a permanent fixture. Hydraulic rams are responsible for steering and pivoting the cab. This vehicle can adapt perfectly to rough terrain.
Bulldozer
Wheeled Bulldozer. Source: Kindersay
Track Bulldozer. Source: Civil Engineering
Many people recognize bulldozers for their uniquely-shaped shovel-like blade. It has two types, the track type and the wheeled type. Track type bulldozers are powerful tracked equipment that has excellent ground hold as well as mobility through rough terrain. Wide tracks distribute the weight of the bulldozer over a large area so it won’t sink in muddy or sandy ground.
Wheeled bulldozers on the other hand are wheel loaders that have a dozer bladed fitted in front instead of loader arms and bucket. This is useful for light-duty tasks.
Cable/Hammer Tractor
Source: Commodyx
This machine is used for pulling cables such as electrical cables for a mine shovel, or maybe wire ropes.
Dragline
Source: Wikimedia
Dragline excavators are used in civil engineering as well as surface mining. In the field of civil engineering, smaller types are utilized as pile driving rigs. Larger types, on the other hand, are used in strip-mining operations so as to move overburden above coal, as well as tar-sand mining.
This kind of heavy equipment is one of the largest mobile equipment that has ever been built on land. It can weigh round 2000 metric tonnes, but there have been some that weigh up to 13,000 tonnes.
Drills
Source: YouTube
The purpose of this type of equipment is simple—to drill holes. The purpose of doing so is provide what they call a “blasthole” where explosives can be loaded and detonated, so the site will be easier to work in.
Haul Truck
Source: Wikimedia
These are trucks that are strictly used off-road for mining and heavy dirt hauling tasks. Many people recognize these trucks as ‘dump’ trucks, but this term is not generally used by the mining industry, or by the manufacturers who build them. ‘haul truck’ is the more appropriate term, and ‘dumper’ as the equivalent European term.
Loaders (Track Loaders)
Source: Caterpillar
Track loaders are useful for many tasks (but a master of none). It can be used as a dozer, excavator, or wheel loader, depending on the need or condition. Since it is versatile, it is used by many companies in their mining or engineering projects.
Wheel Loaders
Source: Caterpillar
This kind of machine is often used in the construction industry. Its primary use is to load loose material (snow, dirt, feed, gravel, logs, etc.) into other machines like conveyor belts, feed-hoppers or railcars.
Motor Grader
Source: Willoughbysmodelcars
The motor grader is a machine with a long blade that is used to create a flat surface. These equipment is usually used in construction for the maintenance of dirt roads as well as gravel roads. In the field of civil engineering, the use of a grader is to refine the rough grading made by heavy equipment or other engineering vehicles like scrapers and bulldozers.
Mass Excavator
Source: Heavy Equipment
These massive machines are built to allow the use of the most gigantic bucket in the industry, in terms of weight. These attachments are built for power, not reach. They are specifically designed to quickly load trucks.
Scraper
Source: Heavy Equipment
Scrapers are large machines that are used for digging, hauling as well as levelling out materials in different construction jobs.
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