The Covid-19 pandemic, and its related impacts, has caused severe delays for mining companies procuring new opencast mining machinery. As a result, mines and related contractors have turned to purchasing pre-owned equipment.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, mining contractors have experienced delays when waiting for new equipment to arrive. In particular, backlogs at the Durban port, and long waiting times for ships, owing to several ships arriving and/or departing later than expected, have contributed to the delays.

Further, original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have struggled to manufacture new equipment, owing to a shortage of electronic chips, or semiconductors, and electronic components, caused by manufacturers and supply chains experiencing pandemic-related challenges.

Pre-owned equipment supplier EarthCon Equipment Sales director Shane Naude explains that pre-owned machines that have been well maintained can offer the same service as new equipment. A further advantage of pre-owned equipment is that it costs less than a new machine.

Nevertheless, finding the right pre-owned equipment at the right price is vital for any mining project.

As the cost of pre-owned machines is substantially lower than new machines, smaller mining contractors do not have to spend huge amounts of capital and are, therefore, able to sustain their operations over longer periods.

Further, purchasing good quality pre-owned machines for mining can be more financially beneficial than renting equipment because the machines can be resold at the end of the project.

“You’re paying off someone else’s machine when renting it for longer than 12 or 18 months, rather than owning a saleable asset,” says Naude.

EarthCon Equipment Sales specialises in sourcing and selling “premium pre-owned equipment” into the mining industry for opencast mining, including machines from OEMs such as Caterpillar, Hitachi, Komatsu and Bell Equipment as well as pre-owned equipment for the civils and road industries.

While general delays as a result of the pandemic led to extra lead times for deliveries, the EarthCon Equipment Sales team “worked harder and went further” to find good quality used equipment for customers, says Naude.

While the market for pre-owned mining machines has increased, it has also become harder to find good-quality pre-owned machines. EarthCon Equipment Sales has had to look for new trusted suppliers locally and internationally.

Naude says the ideal pre-owned machines have less than 10 000 hours use, however, machines with higher hours can still be “a good buy” if they have been serviced and maintained properly.

“When buying pre-owned equipment, it is important to find a trusted supplier that can provide a machine that is in full working condition. The supplier should also be able to provide guidance on the best model and machine specific to the intended application as well as provide an efficient and hassle-free process when buying and selling equipment.”

Established in 2017, EarthCon Equipment Sales has an extensive network of clients throughout Africa and Europe, as well as parts of Australasia and North America. All machines are in full working condition and are ready to work. The machines are cleaned in South Africa in accordance with international import and export specifications.