10 Biggest Excavators Ever Built!

Ordinary excavators look massive until one of these mining giants arrives. Some weigh nearly 1,000 tons, must be assembled at the mine, and can lift almost 100 tons in a single scoop. This countdown ranks the world's biggest tracked hydraulic excavators by operating weight, focusing only on the machines built to dig, swing, and load on an enormous scale. 10. Caterpillar 6060 Starting the list is the Caterpillar 6060, although calling a 590-ton machine small feels ridiculous. Powered by two Cat 35112C engines, it produces roughly 2,996 horsepower and carries a 34-cubic-meter bucket. Its rated payload is about 61 tons. The 6060 is designed to keep large mining trucks moving with as few passes as possible. Its twin-engine arrangement also offers a practical advantage. If one engine needs attention, the machine can still be moved or operated at reduced capacity instead of becoming a helpless mountain of steel. 9. Liebherr R 9600 The Liebherr R 9600 represents a newer generation of mining excavators. In face shovel form, it weighs about 645 tons and carries a 37-cubic-meter shovel. Its two engines provide a combined 2,500 kilowatts of power, while an electric drive option is also available. Liebherr designed it around efficiency, operator assistance, and easier maintenance. The company says it can use around 20% less fuel than the model it replaced. After all, these machines can operate through long shifts, day after day, moving mountains one load at a time. 8. Komatsu PC-7011 The Komatsu PC-7011 can reach an operating weight of about 699 tons. It is powered by two engines producing a combined 3,350 horsepower and uses a 38-cubic-meter bucket. This excavator is built to match haul trucks in the 240-290 US ton class. That matching process is important. A bucket that is too small wastes time with extra passes, while one that is too large can overload the truck. The PC-7000 sits in a carefully planned middle ground, delivering huge bites of material without turning each loading cycle into a guessing game. Its rhythm is simple – dig, lift, swing, dump, and repeat, as though hundreds of tons of machinery weigh almost nothing. 7. Damag H740 OS The Damag H740 OS was a special machine built for an especially brutal job. Weighing about 744 tons and equipped with a bucket of roughly 40 cubic meters, it was developed for abrasive oil sands operations in Canada. The OS refers to oil sands where sticky, heavy material punishes buckets, hydraulic systems, and undercarriages. The H740 OS used two large diesel engines and produced around 4,000 horsepower. Only a small number were made, but the model proved that hydraulic excavators could enter a size category once dominated by cable shovels. 6. Komatsu PC-8011 The Komatsu PC-8011 weighs up to approximately 773 tons in standard published configurations. It has two engines producing a combined 4,020 horsepower and carries a 42 cubic meter bucket. The PC-8000 is built for fast truck loading. It can work with haul trucks ranging from roughly 240 to 400 short tons, allowing mines to match equipment to production targets. Despite its size, the upper structure can swing at about 2.7 revolutions per minute. That sounds slow until you remember that the engines, boom, and loaded bucket together weigh hundreds of tons. 5. Liebherr R 9800 At number five is the Liebherr R 9800, which can weigh around 810 tons in face shovel configuration. It is available with a 42 cubic meter shovel or a backhoe bucket measuring about 47.5 cubic meters. Twin engines provide close to 3,000 kilowatts of power. The R 9800 combines brute force with surprisingly quick loading cycles. Its hydraulic system sends enormous volumes of oil through multiple pumps, giving the operator the force needed to break material, lift it, and swing toward a truck without making the machine feel clumsy. Liebherr has also focused on fuel management. Saving even a modest percentage on a machine this large can mean tens of thousands of liters over time. 4. Hitachi EX-8007 Hitachi's EX-8007 can weigh as much as 848 tons. Depending on whether it is configured as a loading shovel or backhoe, bucket capacity ranges from approximately 43 to 52 cubic meters. Two engines provide a combined output of about 3,888 horsepower. The backhoe version can reach more than 21 meters and dig nearly 8 meters deep. The EX-8000 is built to load the largest mining trucks while surviving dust, vibration, and extreme temperatures. Everything from the walkways to the cooling system must be designed on an extraordinary scale. Even routine maintenance can involve platforms, lifting equipment, and an entire crew rather than one mechanic with a toolbox. 3. Komatsu PC-9012 The Komatsu PC-9012 is one of the newest giants on the list. It weighs between 884 and 896 tons, uses buckets ranging from 46 to 49 cubic meters, and produces a combined 4,500 horsepower from two engines. Komatsu developed it as a five pass match for the ultra-class 980E haul truck. In simple terms, five bucket loads can fill one of the biggest mining trucks in the world. The excavator also offers longer reach and greater digging forces than earlier models. Its arrival shows that the race for larger hydraulic excavators is not over. Manufacturers are still trying to move more material per cycle while controlling fuel use, wear, and the enormous stresses passing through the boom and undercarriage. 2. Bucerous RH-400 Before Caterpillar's current champion arrived, the Bucerous RH-400 was the name most often linked with the world's largest hydraulic excavator. It weighed around 980 tons, carried a bucket of about 50 cubic meters, and used twin engines delivering more than 3,000 kilowatts. The RH-400 began life under the O&K and Terex names before becoming part of Bucerous. Its bucket could lift roughly 85 tons of material in one pass. More importantly, the RH-400 became the foundation for the machine that eventually took the number one position. It was not merely a giant, it was the blueprint for the next giant. 1. Caterpillar 6090FS At the top stands the Caterpillar 6090FS. In face shovel configuration, it weighs approximately 1,000 tons, produces 4,500 horsepower, and uses a 52-cubic-meter bucket. Its rated payload is 93.6 tons, meaning a single scoop can lift more weight than many fully loaded highway trucks. The 6090FS is an evolution of the RH-400 platform, refined after Caterpillar acquired Bucerous. It uses two 60-liter Cummins engines and a massive hydraulic system designed for continuous production. This excavator is transported in sections and assembled at the mine, where it may spend years working in the same pit. What makes the 6090 truly impressive is not simply its weight. It is the fact that one operator can control it with precision. A movement of the joystick sends a 1,000-ton machine into the rock, lifts nearly 100 tons, rotates and places the load into a truck. That combination of scale and control makes the Caterpillar 6090FS the king of hydraulic excavators. These machines exist because modern mines operate on an almost unimaginable scale. Bigger buckets reduce loading passes, powerful engines shorten cycles, and carefully matched haul trucks keep material flowing. Yet size also creates challenges. Fuel consumption, transportation, maintenance, safety and component stress all increase with the machine. Which of these giant excavators impressed you the most? Let us know in the comments. If you enjoyed this video, hit the like button, subscribe to the channel, and turn on notifications for more incredible heavy machinery videos.