Delivered by James Equipment, the new 70 tonne GR-700EXL now sits alongside two 60 tonne Tadano rough terrain cranes delivered early in 2006, two Tadano GT-550E hydraulic truck cranes and a 50 tonne TG500. Another new GT-550E is also set to arrive soon.

Goldfields Crane Hire began with Rick Mussara back in 1998 serving the local mining industry on maintenance projects. Today, major mining maintenance contracts have spurred outstanding capital growth for Goldfields Crane Hire which now employ 20 staff.

Company managing director Rick Mussara explains:

“Our first ever crane was a 25 tonne Tadano that we purchased second hand back in 1994. Since then, all our new Tadano cranes have been very reliable, user friendly and versatile.”

“Our new Tadano rough-terrain has a bigger capacity which enables us to keep up with our local market. The current water reservoir project we are working on in Kalgoorlie is ideal for our new GR-700EXL which can manoeuvre into tight positions.”

The design of the reservoirs has meant there is little space at the top of the walls for a crane to operate so a specific crane had to be sourced with off road capabilities and a large boom capacity. The GR-700EXL has the off-road credentials along with a huge reach so heavy materials could be strategically supplied as workers reinforced the walls with concrete from the bottom up. The reservoir project is expected to be complete by Christmas 2007.

The 70 tonne GR-700EXL powerhouse has full floating axles, rigid mounted front and pivot mounted rear suspension and electronic controlled full automatic transmission.

The turbo-charged and intercooled 6 cylinder diesel engine delivers 166kW of power and 705Nm of torque to push the Tadano across extreme landscape conditions. Four wheel drive, four steering modes and the performance of air over hydraulic disc brakes provides the confidence and agility to all off-road lifting projects.

With a five-section, partially synchronised telescopic boom and two-stage triple offset jib, the GR-700EXL can lift up to 70 tonnes. Boom expansion from 11.5m to 44.0m takes 145 seconds while elevation from -2° to 80° is achieved in 77 seconds.

If not working on the local water reservoir project, the extensive line-up of Goldfields Crane Hire cranes can be seen working at the ‘Super Pit’ gold mine in Kalgoorlie or assisting Minara Resources in Murrin with their maintenance needs.


Goldfields’ Tadano 70 tonne GR-700EXL Goldfields’ Tadano 70 tonne GR-700EXL