It has been few months since I started mining, and I was doing well in my small way in mining in an area gold mining wasn't that common. I was approached by a guy who later became a friend, to help finance him to finance to dig a 20 to 25 meter shaft to a position he claimed was rich in gold. The previous shaft collapsed due to pressures on mine supporters that happened during a gold rush. The guy had no real manpower, they had a compressor to drill explosives holes but no dynamites that's where I was going to come in and fuel. His story was was a common story sold by miners promising a huge return I helped him few times then I stopped. The guy spent a year calender digging the 2 of them before they hit spot that gave him around $17000 in one go. The spot was before the intended position he wanted to achieve and this time he was not going to allow a gold rush to collapse an already weak mine on steep slope. He hired an JCB the way he called it. The machine is just an art of power and fighting the word impossible, trees were uprooted, it cleared it's way and dug the ground mercilessly for 7 hours as it's paid per hour. The work of 2 man 12 months was out weighed in just an hour and since that impression I felt an excavator the symbol of mining. The machine took me back to my form 2 science defining a machine as anything that makes work easier then we transendent to compute work done and forces on a liver, inclined plane and pullies. It wasnt work done we computer but play it's what is done by an excavator we call work done.
Since then my quest to know more of these beasts never ceased. The heavy machines are used for digging, lifting, trenching, breaking, loading, demolition, site preparation, water excavation and materials handling. Excavators come in various sizes and configurations to suit different tasks mini excavators for small jobs, wheeled excavator for high mobility tasks, crawler excavator for with chain steel wheels for stability, long reach excavators for digging. Excavators are used in construction, agriculture, mining, quarrying and waste management. It will be my pleasure to help you appreciate these beasts and their preferred tasks so that you can suit your needs. Firstly, when selecting en excavator for mining consider the following factors
1. Bucket capacity
2. Digging depth and reach
3. Terrain and ground condition
4. Machine durability and maintenance demands
5. Operator comfort and safety
The common used excavators on harsh environments crawlers in mining are :
1. Caterpillar 320-325F
2. 2. Volvo EC200-300
3.Komatsu PC200-300
4. Hitachi EX200-300
They offer good hydraulics, size 20-30 tons, roburst carriage on tough terrains, long reach and deep capabilities, high bucket capacity and a rugged design for harsh mining. For someone considering a first time ownership of a excavator a low-cost, smaller and compact machine (greater than mini on size, tail swing radius, engine size and operating capacity) is preferred like:
1. Bobcat E10(mini)
2. Caterpillar 301.5C( mini)
3. JCB 8014 (compact)
4. XCMG XE15 (mini)
Easy to maintain and parts available, Fuel efficient, Have many attachments options, Has training and safety features.
After all is said and done JCB brand is common with small scale miners in Zimbabwe that they nolonger bother to check the maker of the machine but bundle them into JCBs.
