Mine Machinery: Marion 8750 Dragline

In the latest instalment of our Mine Machinery series, we are getting up and close and personal with the biggest piece of equipment on-site at Callide Mine…in fact it’s one of the largest mine machines in the Southern Hemisphere! 

Back in 1993 the mighty Marion 8750 was unveiled to the public and at the time it was the largest dragline in the Southern Hemisphere, with a state-of-the-art all-electric layout and massive productivity potential. 

For the past 31 years, the Marion has swung day and night, shifting up to 100 cubic metres with each bucket load, equating to around 20 million cubic metres every year! That’s a serious amount of dirt. 

To suggest the Marion 8750 is ‘big’ would be an understatement because weighing in at around 6300 tonnes and with a whopping 128-metre boom – it’s truly a one-of-a-kind machine. 

How does it get around site? It walks. For those who have witnessed this in person, we’re sure you’ll agree that it never gets old and must be seen to be believed! Large ‘shoes’ on either side of the dragline move just 2.4 metres each step , making ‘walking’ a time-consuming exercise.  

The major benefit of the dragline is its lower material removal cost per tonne, consuming less power and emitting fewer greenhouse gases than other methods of overburden removal. This is because the Marion 8750 is electric and uses a series of motors to run the complex drag, hoist  and slewing systems. 

The dragline team members work 12-hour shifts, around the clock, taking turns in the cab, on the dozer, and of course inspecting the machine inside and out as it is operated.  

It takes a true ‘swing king’ to operate the machine, being a fairly unique experience compared with more traditional earthmoving equipment, however we have some of the top dragline operators around – at least we think so! 

While we also operate a smaller Bucyrus Erie 1350 Dragline, it’s the mighty Marion that keeps the lights on around Queensland having shifted an estimated 620 million cubic metres of overburden across its life. 

To find out more about Batchfire you can connect with us on LinkedIn or contact us here.