Although at the mine the treads are unnecessary, it was cheaper to make the machine self-propelled than to try and move it with conventional hauling equipment. Some factoids:
The machine is 95 meters high and 215 meters long (almost 2.5 football fields in length)
Weight is 45,500 tons (that’s equivalent to a bumper to bumper line of jeeps 80 miles long)
It took 5 years to design and manufacture at a cost of $100 million
Maximum digging speed is 10 meters per minute
Can move more than 76,000 cubic meters of coal, rock, and earth per day
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXajxiBO9H57MScvZ2bTHWmpr13_VSMYiAjRaRtkFaIkYBex_nIDsdQu2swcKBSBLLeVVduEnrH0CruE_DfvILuVjhNuuNZZZpxWpkttJbz_UcwEDRvU-y8LPYVp2Qmh2_nCYwCzMa-jC/s400/6.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihD5rBeND7G9vB8RopwXf5uhPJ1U9g1mcyLHUaRJWMgJhNZoUbBMWWtY7RZ4LkGWRfVL7TzT6FBMKGbM-__KLW7vqyKzkfvBTiPvGINgtqK9xdCXd6CELhY3PXQLITUumGq91w8zIkmkjs/s400/1.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRs77cFIWmoR6JNaiTx1SGxt90I22XBg1Gp89FcdN8CsCNfPGh-tSn5lfV-9UVvosl8_3aSJZTM-nZoKfyWdA8thBGxE_fvXqreCBMhzJ3KTjazQT4lgxOqJp1lai4xp_bT_w1ySxwHC5/s400/3.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFf3V2GdNayCGd4oMtfPDXh3Z5YfnSEfcWalmRO3zsZY6q46yA0DCzsvq5qZv-xxipmKyYsYyAxaM1DwUVjft5bNFDv8QjJ4WcmjudJ9gwydA1-PJ2PY8yXTcZ9RRZrjTGm37x2WIsvTrZ/s400/4.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjT-VY_QGkZK8UAsIxyQzM88JcrFLj333GR3M-inR0yjo7vAVFPHOPw3epF5_yx6cbw2-SVX9Ck-oZcPkD46w524V3yRrTjGD3CAJpmsIetr65te0HHyMlfeQChLntkLB9o-DweVdvQDuA/s400/5.jpg)