Amphibious excavators are mounted on buoyant pontoon undercarriages that spread the machine’s weight across a much larger surface area than conventional tracks. This allows them to work safely on saturated tailings, soft sediment, shallow water, and low ground-pressure areas that would bog or sink a standard excavator.
Where a conventional machine needs firm, dry ground and often expensive temporary access roads or platforms, an amphibious excavator simply drives across the surface and gets to work. That makes it the most practical way to access previously flooded or saturated areas on mine sites — including active tailings storage facilities, abandoned pits, and legacy dams that need clean-up or rehabilitation.
XR3’s unit is currently based in the Bowen Basin and can be mobilised to sites across Queensland.
Gain safe access onto the surface of active or legacy tailings storage facilities for maintenance, reclamation, monitoring infrastructure installation, and hydraulic mining support.
Re-enter flooded open-cut pits to recover access, clear debris, and prepare the area for dewatering or further works. The machine works in and around standing water.
Clear sediment, silt, and accumulated material from old water dams, settling ponds, and environmental dams including dams that can't be drained for access.
Access waterlogged areas to install, reposition, or maintain dewatering pumps, pipelines, and ancillary infrastructure without needing temporary roads or platforms.
Shape, grade, and prepare soft-ground areas for revegetation and closure works in locations where standard earthmoving equipment can't safely operate.
Reach locations that conventional equipment can't. Low ground-pressure areas, wetlands, waterways, and environmentally sensitive zones with minimal surface disturbance.
The machine comes with an experienced operator who has worked in mining and tailings environments, not just civil or wetland projects. XR3’s crew understand mine site requirements.
No long-distance mobilisation costs. The unit is based locally and can be on your site quickly, reducing lead time and transport expense.
XR3 provides end-to-end tailings management, dewatering, and reclamation services. The excavator fits into a broader project solution or it can be hired standalone for a specific task.
The unit has been deployed to tailings projects in QLD, meeting mine site safety and compliance requirements. XR3 handles logistics, inductions, and mobilisation so your team can focus on the work.
An amphibious excavator is a standard hydraulic excavator mounted on buoyant pontoon undercarriages instead of conventional steel tracks. The pontoons spread the machine’s weight over a large surface area, allowing it to work on soft, saturated, or submerged ground, including tailings, swamps, and flooded pits, without sinking or requiring temporary access infrastructure.
The unit can operate on any soft, wet, or unstable surface including tailings storage facilities, flooded open-cut pits, saturated ground, settling ponds, waterways, and dams. It floats in shallow water and can transition between water and soft ground in a single operation. It’s currently based in the Bowen Basin but can be mobilised across Queensland.
XR3 currently offers the amphibious excavator as a wet hire, meaning the machine comes with an experienced operator. This ensures safe operation on tailings and mine sites where specialist knowledge of the equipment and the ground conditions is critical.
Because the unit is already based in the Bowen Basin, mobilisation timelines are significantly shorter than interstate transport. Contact XR3 with your site location and project timeline for a specific mobilisation estimate.
Yes. The amphibious excavator is often deployed as part of XR3’s broader tailings reclamation, hydraulic mining, or dewatering projects. It can also be hired as a standalone piece of equipment for a specific task or short-term project.
Tell us about your site and what you need the machine for. We’ll confirm availability, mobilisation timeline, and rates.
Enquire Now