Essential Mining Machinery: Top 8 Picks for Australia’s Mining Industry
Australia’s mining industry is one of the most robust and productive in the world. From the vast iron ore deposits in Western Australia to the coal mines in Queensland, it’s one of the economy’s key drivers, delivering billions of dollars in exports annually.
Australian Regulations and Standards for Operating Earthmoving Machinery: What You Need to Know
Understanding and adhering to Australian regulations and standards is essential for ensuring the safety of operators, other workers, and the general public when operating earthmoving machinery. Without a thorough grasp of these standards, operators risk not only severe legal repercussions but also potential harm to personnel and equipment. As WA’s most comprehensive mining, earthmoving, construction […]
The Importance Of Safety & Proper Transportation Of Equipment
Mining operations involve the use of heavy equipment for extraction and transportation. While these are essential to mining operations, they can also be extremely dangerous if not operated and transported properly. The safety of workers and the surrounding environment is of utmost importance, making the safe transportation of heavy equipment an essential component of any […]
Top 8 Tips to Reduce Operating Costs in Mining Operations
Like all industries, mining operations are always looking for ways to reduce costs and generate more profits. There are wrong ways and right ways to go about reducing mining operating costs, so let’s look at the best methods we’ve found for cost control in the mining industry. Table of Contents 1. Ensure mine vehicles are […]
Weekly newsletter
No spam. Just the latest release and interesting articles in your inbox.
As the demand for minerals and resources continues to grow, so does the need for efficient and reliable mining machinery. The right equipment can significantly enhance any mine site's performance, efficiency, and safety. Whether you're considering renting or buying, investing in high-quality mining machinery is essential for any operation looking to thrive in Australia's competitive mining landscape.
Plantman is one of Australia's most comprehensive mining machinery companies, delivering top-tier mining machinery to mine sites across the country. Our machinery fleet is among the most recognised and regarded within the Australian mining and civil construction industries, ensuring reliability and performance for every project.
In this article, we explore the main types of mining in Australia, the importance of reliable, quality machinery, and the 8 types of machinery every mine site should invest in.
The Main Types of Mining in Australia
Australia's diverse geology has led to the development of various mining methods to extract valuable minerals and resources.
In terms of large-scale mining, there are many different operations around the country. Some of the major ones include:
- Iron ore
- Coal
- Lithium
- Aluminium/bauxite
- Gold
- Copper
- Nickel
Understanding the different types of mining and the machinery used in each is crucial for choosing the right equipment for your operation.
Surface Mining
Surface mining is Australia's most common type of mining, particularly for extracting coal, iron ore, and other bulk commodities. This method involves drilling and blasting to break up the surface material, which is then loaded and transported for processing.
The machinery commonly used in surface mining includes:
Excavators: These are essential for digging and removing overburden and ore. Hydraulic excavators are particularly common due to their efficiency and versatility.
Dump Trucks: Used to transport the overburden and ore from the excavation site to the processing area or waste dumps.
Wheel Loaders: These machines are used to load materials into trucks and move materials around the mine site.
Open-Pit Mining
Open-pit mining is a type of surface mining in which large pits are dug to extract ores and mined minerals found near the surface. It is commonly used for mining iron ore, copper, gold, and other valuable minerals.
The machinery commonly used in open-pit mining includes:
Track Dozers: These powerful machines are masters of material handling, pushing large quantities of overburden, ore, and other materials to the desired location. They are essential for maintaining the pit floor and moving materials to the desired location.
Motor Graders: These are used to create and maintain roads within the mine site, ensuring safe and efficient transport of materials.
Water Trucks: Water trucks suppress dust on haul roads, keeping the working environment safe and compliant with regulations.
Underground Mining
Underground mining is employed when mineral deposits are located deep beneath the surface and require complex systems to access them. This method is often used for extracting gold, nickel, and other minerals.
The most common underground mining equipment includes:
Loaders: Compact and powerful, underground loaders are used to load ore onto conveyor belts or transport trucks.
Mining Buses: These specialised vehicles transport workers safely in and out of the mine.
Service Trucks: The humble service truck is essential for repairing and maintaining machinery within the mine, ensuring minimal downtime.
Other types of mining include strip mining, pillar mining, blast mining, and retreat mining.
The Importance of Efficient Mining Machinery
In the highly competitive mining industry, efficiency is key to staying profitable.
Efficient mining equipment reduces operating costs, increases productivity, and minimises the environmental impact of mining operations. High-quality machinery ensures that work is done quickly and accurately, reducing the time spent on each task and allowing for higher material yields.
Beyond just productivity and profitability, reliable, efficient machinery is also critical for improving and maintaining on-site safety standards. In an industry where heavy machinery and challenging environments are the norms, having reliable equipment is essential for preventing accidents and ensuring the well-being of workers.
What Kinds of Machinery Are Used in Mining?
Depending on the mine site and the type of mining being performed, a variety of machinery is used to perform a diverse range of tasks.
From the initial exploration stages to the final stages of processing and transporting minerals, different types of equipment are required at each step. The selection of machinery depends on factors such as the type of mineral being extracted, the mining method, and the specific needs of the mine site.
Some of the most common mining machinery types include rotary drill rigs, water trucks, excavators, dump trucks, light vehicles, track dozers, wheel loaders, mining buses, service trucks, motor graders, and tyre handlers. Each plays a vital role in the smooth operation of a mine site.
Top 8 Must-Have Machinery for Your Mining Site
Water Trucks
Water trucks are essential for dust suppression on mine sites. Dust can be a significant problem in mining, affecting visibility, worker health, and equipment longevity. A key addition to your fleet of mining trucks, water trucks help keep dust under control, ensuring a safer and more efficient working environment on mining sites.
Plantman offers a wide range of new and used water trucks equipped with advanced technology and safety features to ensure efficient and safe water delivery services on job sites. Available to rent or buy, our water trucks come equipped with:
- Turbo-charged engine with exhaust retarder
- Magnum spray valves
- Automatic greasing lubrication system
- Low running costs
- Variety of size and capacity
Excavators
Excavators are the workhorses of any mining operation, used for digging and removing overburden and ore. These machines come in various sizes, with hydraulic excavators being particularly popular for their versatility and power.
Usually running on tracks, they can access areas and maneuver freely where other wheeled machinery can’t. Different types of excavators used in mining include backhoes, bucket wheel excavators, power shovels, and dragline excavators. Since the art of mining is heavily focused on digging, these machines are a necessity. They can power through hundreds of cubic metres of material every hour.
Whether you need small excavators that can move around easily in tight spaces or long-reach versions for difficult areas, excavators operate with precision, flexibility, and speed.
Plantman offers a comprehensive range of excavators for sale or hire. Our excavators provide efficient and precise performance, ensuring you have the right equipment to easily handle any digging or earthmoving task.
Articulated Dump Trucks
Dump trucks transport large volumes of overburden and ore from the excavation site to the processing area or waste dumps. Their size and capacity make them indispensable for moving materials efficiently.
An articulated dump truck, also known as a dump hauler, consists of a front section, or cab, and a rear section that tips up and down to allow for easy material unloading. Most articulated dump trucks can carry up to 30 tons of materials.
Dump trucks are built more like traditional trucks than some other mining equipment, like loaders. They have excellent pivoting capabilities and can turn in a tight radius, which gives the operator more flexibility, especially in smaller areas.
Plantman provides a selection of high-performance articulated dump trucks for hire, ideal for your hauling requirements. Our articulated dump trucks ensure dependable and efficient operation, giving you the right equipment to manage any transportation task confidently.
Light Vehicles
Light vehicles, such as 4WDs and utility trucks, are an important part of your fleet. They transport personnel, tools, and small equipment around the mine site and provide the flexibility and mobility needed to navigate the often rugged terrain of a mine.
Plantman provides a diverse selection of light vehicles for hire to meet your various transportation needs. Our light vehicles offer reliable performance and versatility, ensuring efficient mobility for your projects.
Wheel Loaders
Often referred to as front-end loaders, wheel loaders are crucial to the success of most mining operations and large-scale construction projects. These robust machines are designed to lift and transport debris, soil, gravel, rocks, and other materials that need to be removed from a mine site.
When it comes to earthmoving, wheel loaders are among the most widely utilized pieces of machinery in the mining industry.
Plantman offers a wide range of new and used wheel loaders that deliver powerful and efficient performance, ensuring you have the right equipment to handle any loading task with ease.
Available to rent or buy, our wheel loaders boast features like high-capacity torque converters, easy-to-load buckets with wider mouths, and curved side plates, which provide excellent energy efficiency and faster digging.
Track Dozers
A track dozer shares some similarities with a wheel loader, but it also has distinct differences. Unlike wheel loaders, track dozers operate on tracks instead of wheels, which enhances their maneuverability on uneven or rocky surfaces.
While wheel loaders are designed to scoop and lift materials to considerable heights, track dozers are primarily built for pushing large volumes of material. Although their front attachment is shallower and carries less material than a wheel loader's bucket, track dozers excel at scooping materials close to the ground.
Plantman offers a comprehensive fleet of track dozers available for hire. Our track dozers deliver robust and efficient performance, providing the ideal equipment for handling any earthmoving or grading task with precision and power.
Service Trucks
Mining service trucks are among the most vital pieces of equipment on a mine site. Given that mines are often situated in remote areas and the machinery is massive, it's not feasible to transport equipment back to a service centre for refueling. Instead, service trucks provide the essential function of delivering fuel directly to the machines on-site.
You can find all types of service trucks to suit your needs, from 1500L capacity up to 28,000L capacity. The best mining service trucks feature mine-spec electrics, customisable tank configurations, and a zero spillage system for easy operation.
Plantman offers a wide range of new and used service trucks designed to provide exceptional performance and reliability, ensuring your operations run smoothly. Available to rent or buy, our service trucks deliver maximum durability, flexibility, and usability.
Tyre Handlers
Tyre handlers are specifically designed to remove, replace, repair, and align tyres on heavy earthmoving machinery. Unlike changing a car tyre, handling the massive tyres of wheel loaders and other heavy equipment requires specialised machinery. These tyres can weigh hundreds of kilograms, and tyre handlers are built to manage such substantial loads effortlessly.
As Perth's most comprehensive mining equipment company, Plantman offers a wide range of tyre handler models for short—and long-term hire. As heavy machinery specialists, our tyre handler hire services are designed for durability and efficiency, offering a range of options tailored to your needs.
Reliable and Efficient Mining Machinery to Rent or Buy
Mining remains a cornerstone of Australia's economy, driven by the abundant resources found right across the country. To keep up with the demands of this booming industry, mining operations must invest in high-quality machinery that enhances performance, efficiency, and safety.
From excavators to water trucks, each piece of equipment plays a vital role in the success of a mining operation. By carefully selecting and maintaining the right machinery, mining companies can ensure they remain competitive in a challenging and ever-evolving industry. Whether you choose to rent or buy, investing in the best machinery is a decision that will pay off in the long run.
If you're looking to maximise your profits and minimise your risks, Plantman can help. Offering both new and used mining machinery, available to rent or buy, we can deliver almost anywhere in the country, tailoring and customising machines to suit your needs. You get the absolute best in safety features, and our vehicles are expertly maintained. We can even arrange a regular maintenance plan for your vehicles for long-term leases.
Contact us today to discuss any of your needs regarding mining machinery for rent or purchase. We are always happy to speak with you and committed to helping you meet your goals within the desired timeframe.
What our customers are saying
Green Planet
Steve Kuklinski Owner Operator
Green Planet
From the start working with Frank regarding setting up a different style of service body was more than helpful, and this enabled us to get a truck that meets our requirements. Pricing was good and there were no issues when we made changes when they were requested. The response was excellent, I have made multiple requests to have other things added and modified from learnings here on-site and these were done to a great standard. The delivery was good even due to the Covid restrictions. We were very happy with the result and will be recommending Plantman if requested and hopefully dealing with Plantman in the future when we upgrade trucks again. Thank you again for the work put into the truck and body.
Evolution Mining
Rob Mclean Mine Maintenance Foreman
Evolution Mining
The flatbed has been very well received across the MEM department. As expected it was delivered in a clean and ready-to-go condition as promised and all facets of the truck have been put to good use. Overall everyone is impressed with the truck and having it on-site has allowed for work to flow a lot smoother.
Rio Tinto
Steven Nixon Field Supervisor
Rio Tinto
Happy to getting Plantman involved in Future opportunity.
FMG
Eugenio Martinelli Mine Services Utility Superintendent
Now that I’ve found Plantman and they’re local which is a bonus, I won’t need to look elsewhere. They also have an extensive range of equipment that suits our requirements for servicing the mining industry. I have no hesitation in recommending Plantman to any of our clients. Well Done!!!