40 Tonne+ Excavators for Sale in South Australia

40 tonne-plus excavators are production machines for mining, quarrying, and the largest civil infrastructure projects — weighing 35,000 kg and up, with the largest single-bucket excavators in Australia reaching 80-100+ tonnes. This is the class where machines are purpose-selected for specific site conditions: bucket sizes from 2 cubic metres upwards, reach to 10+ metres, and breakout forces sufficient to rip blasted rock, weathered sandstone, and decomposed granite. Common models include the Caterpillar 349, 352 and 374, Komatsu PC400 and PC490, Hitachi ZX450 and ZX490, Hyundai R480 and R520, Volvo EC480 and EC750, Kobelco SK500, and Liebherr R946 through R976. These machines are capital items — new pricing starts around $600,000 and the largest exceed $2 million. They rarely leave site and require dedicated heavy float transport when they do move. Most are purchased for long-term projects or contract work with guaranteed hours. The used market is well-developed for 40-50 tonne machines that come off mining contracts with known service histories, but the 70-tonne+ segment is specialised and typically moves between operators directly rather than through general dealers.