In a seven year deal worth £60m with Finning Equipment Solutions, mining specialist Hargreaves has invested in a totally new fleet of Caterpillar equipment, which will include four new Caterpillar 6030’s, one of which is already in place, and nineteen Caterpillar 777 Off Highway trucks, which will be delivered for use at the Tower Colliery open cast mine site in Hirwaun, Rhondda Cynon Taff, South Wales, during 2012.

These giant mining machines will be used to extract around six million tonnes of coal from the 615-acre site over the next seven years.

Here is a short video clip of the initial 6030 backhoe machine in action during the first weeks muck shift.

This will be a very exciting time for heavy plant and machinery people in the UK, and the Digger Blog hopes to be getting up close and personal with these mining giants real soon. Stay tuned to the blog for more action over the coming months!