The Elphinstone Story

From humble beginnings

Dale Elphinstone’s relationship with Caterpillar began in 1966 at the age of 15 as an apprentice with Victorian and Tasmanian Cat Dealer, William Adams. Following his trade qualification came employment as a Field Service Mechanic across Tasmanian and King Island mine sites, and for a period of two years, with Canadian Cat Dealer, Finning.

Since modifying Cat surface mining equipment to suit underground applications out of his Fathers shed on their Mooreville Road, Burnie farm in 1975, the Elphinstone name has been synonymous with underground mining.

The Elphinstone Story

1975

Dale B Elphinstone Pty Ltd established

Dale B Elphinstone Pty Ltd established

Dale Elphinstone began modifying Caterpillar equipment to suit underground hard rock mining  applications out of his Fathers shed on their Mooreville Road, Burnie (Tasmania) farm in 1975.  The Elphinstone name was destined to become synonymous with underground mining.

1976

Head Office at 4 Hopkinson St, Burnie founded

Head Office at 4 Hopkinson St, Burnie founded

Head office was founded at 4 Hopkinson Street Burnie, Tasmania. Development of the first modified Caterpillar machines for underground started.

1977

First Elphinstone Underground Dump Truck

First underground truck sold

Sale of the first Elphinstone 79C underground mining truck, which was a modified Caterpillar 769C truck.

1978

Elphinstone Underground Scaler and Elevated Work Platform

Underground support vehicles developed

Development of the first Elphinstone underground support vehicles, the 920 Scaler and 925 Work Basket using a Caterpillar 920 wheel loader.

1978

Elphinstone Underground Ejector Truck

First Elphinstone underground ejector truck developed

Development of the first Elphinstone 79C underground ejector truck, which was a modified Caterpillar 769C truck.

1978

First Elphinstone Underground Grader

First Elphinstone underground grader developed

Development of the first Elphinstone underground grader from a Caterpillar 12G

1979

Underground loader developed

Underground loader developed

Development and sale of the first Elphinstone underground mining loaders, which were modified Caterpillar 980B and 925B wheel loaders.

1982

First Elphinstone purpose built underground truck

First Elphinstone purpose built underground truck

Design, manufacture and testing of the first purpose built Elphinstone underground mining dump truck.

1983

Sale of first fully manufactured underground product

Sale of first fully manufactured underground product

Elphinstone manufactured and sold the very first purpose built underground mining trucks, the AD13 (13-tonne capacity) and AD17 (17-tonne capacity) articulated dump trucks.

1984

80C Underground Loader

Sale of first Elphinstone 80C underground loader

Sale of the first Elphinstone 80C underground loader modified from a Caterpillar 980C wheel loader.

1986

First Elphinstone underground loader R1500LHD sold

First Elphinstone underground loader R1500LHD sold

Sale of first fully designed and manufactured, purpose built R1500 Load Haul Dump (LHD).  Machine no.1 is still operational and has returned to Burnie to be part of Dale Elphinstone’s collection.

1987

First underground export sales to USA

First export sale to Henderson Mine in the USA by Elphinstone of a purpose design and built R2600 LHD.

1988

R2800 Underground LHD

Sale of first Elphinstone designed and manufactured R2800 LHD

Sale of first fully designed and manufactured, purpose built R2800 Load Haul Dump (LHD).  Machine no.1 was delivered to a customer in Australia and painted white.  The machine is still operational and has returned to Burnie to be part of Dale Elphinstone’s collection.

1991

R1700 LHD and AD40 dump truck developed and first sales

R1700 LHD and AD40 dump truck developed and first sales

First R1700 LHD designed manufactured and delivered. The AD40 Dump Truck was designed and developed to compliment the larger LHDs.

1994

R2900 LHD developed and first sales

R2900 LHD developed and first sales

First R2900 LHD designed and developed. By the end of 1994 Elphinstone had delivered more than 200 LHDs, 100 of these were the R2800 model.

1995

Establishment of Caterpillar Elphinstone Pty Ltd

Establishment of Caterpillar Elphinstone Pty Ltd, a joint venture between Caterpillar Inc and Elphinstone Pty Ltd.

2000

Sale of remaining 50% shareholding to Caterpillar

Sale of remaining 50% shareholding to Caterpillar

Elphinstone Pty Ltd sells the remaining 50% share of the Joint Venture to Caterpillar Inc. which started the Caterpillar Hard Rock Vehicle (HRV) product range. At this time more than 700 machines had been manufactured and sold.

2001

1000th machine delivered

The 1000th machine originally designed by Elphinstone was sold by Caterpillar.

2007

Haulmax investment

Haulmax investment

The Elphinstone Group invested in Haulmax who manufactured an 80tonne capacity extended distance haul truck. The Haulmax business was relocated from Brisbane to Tasmania.

2009

Haulmax 3900 Dump Truck

Haulmax 3900 Series released

The Haulmax 3900 series extended distance haul truck was released following significant design, testing and field follow.

2011

RMT14D Road-Rail Vehicle

Railmax RMT14D hi-rail excavator released

The Railmax RMT14D hi-rail excavator was released which transformed the rail maintenance industry allowing work to be performed safely under live powerlines and on live parallel tracks transforming the rail maintenance industry.

2014

Haulmax

Elphinstone Group becomes sole owner of Haulmax

The Elphinstone Group purchases the remaining shareholding in Haulmax to become the outright owner.

2016

Elphinstone Pty Ltd is established

Elphinstone Pty Ltd is established

The Elphinstone Group purchases Service Vehicle Solutions (SVS) and Southern Prospect and combines these with Haulmax to for Elphinstone Pty Ltd.  Elphinstone Pty Ltd takes back the Burnie manufacturing facilities and the “Elphinstone” brand from Caterpillar.  Development of a new range of specialized underground hard rock support vehicles starts and the manufacturing facilities are repurposed to build these.

2017

Railmax RMT15F Road Rail Excavator released

Railmax RMT15F Road Rail Excavator released

The Elphinstone RMT15F Railmax was released with significant control system upgrades to the previous RMT14D version, increasing the machines capability, safety and productivity.

2017

Introduction of WR820 8m3 Agitator

Introduction of WR820 8m3 Agitator

Elphinstone introduces the WR820 Agitator at Minexpo 2016 and the first sales followed.

2017

Introduction of WR820 Water Cannon

Introduction of WR820 Water Cannon

Elphinstone develops and introduces the WR820 Water Cannon with remote operation as a solution for recovery of ore fines, unblocking of hang-up and dust suppression.

2017

Purchase of Underground Grader IP from Groundforce

Elphinstone purchases the underground grader IP of Groundforce to add road maintenance solutions to the growing portfolio of Elphinstone underground hard rock mining products.

2018

Introduction of UG20K and UG20M underground graders

Introduction of UG20K and UG20M underground graders

Elphinstone upgrades and introduces the UG20K and UG20M graders which results in a very successful road maintenance solution for customers around the world.

2018

Introduction of the WR820 10m3 Agitator

Introduction of the WR820 10m3 Agitator

Elphinstone expands the Agitator range by developing the WR820 10m3 Agitator which maximizes productivity of concrete delivery underground by increasing volume, speed and braking performance.

2019

WR820 Water Tank

Introduction of WR820 Water Tank

Elphinstone introduces the WR820 Water Tank, specifically designed for dust suppression with a capacity of 16,000L – 19,000L (dependent on configuration).

2019

Development of the WR810 platform

Development of the WR810 platform

Elphinstone develops the highly configurable WR810 underground service vehicle platform. The first machines developed were a 6m3 Agitator, Scissor Lift, Fuel & Lube and Water Cannon.

2020

Introduction of Tier 4 engines to the WR810 fleet

Introduction of Tier 4 engines to the WR810 fleet

The Elphinstone WR810 was further developed to include a Tier 4 engine option plus additional models were added including a Delivery (with crane), Flat Bed and Cab Chassis that provides flexibility for specific customer solutions.

2021

100th Elphinstone underground support vehicle

100th Elphinstone underground support vehicle

A Tier 4 WR810 Delivery with crane was the 100th Elphinstone underground support vehicle delivered.

2022

Sale of 50th Elphinstone underground motor grader

Sale of 50th Elphinstone underground motor grader

Elphinstone announced the sale of the 50th underground motor grader designed and manufactured in Burnie, Tasmania.

2022

Elphinstone BEV Project

Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) Project announced

Elphinstone commences the development of a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) solution for the WR810 10-Tonne Platform.

2022

100th 20-Tonne Elphinstone Base Platform

Sale of the 100th Elphinstone 20 Tonne Base Platform

Elphinstone commemorated the sale of the 100th Underground Mining 20 Tonne Platform, a WR820 10m3 Agitator designed and manufactured at the company’s world-class facilities in Burnie, Tasmania.

2023

New WR810 front-mounted cab

WR810 low-profile front cab launched in Brisbane

Elphinstone unveiled its WR810 low-profile front cab was launched in March at the Underground Operators Conference in Brisbane, showcasing the latest in its underground application portfolio.

2023

Railmax RMT15F

End of an era – The last Railmax RMT15F is sold

The first Elphinstone Railmax rail maintenance excavator, the RMT14D was released in 2011. It transformed the rail maintenance industry allowing work to be performed safely under live powerlines and on live parallel tracks. In 2017 the Railmax RMT15F was released, featuring significant control system upgrades to the previous RMT14D version, increasing the machine’s capability, safety and productivity. Signifying the end of an era for Elphinstone Railmax Rail Maintenance Solutions, the last Railmax RMT15F excavator was shipped to BHP at Port Hedland, Western Australia on May 23, 2023.

2024

Elphinstone WR810 model number changed to E10

WR810 model numbers updated to E10

The WR810 model number was phased out in January 2024 and replaced with the E10 model number. The ‘E’ represents the Elphinstone name and the ’10’ indicates the nominal capacity in metric tonnes (depending on configuration). The Elphinstone E10 series of underground support vehicles continues to feature a high level of interchangeability of parts and components between machines.

2024

New E15 base platform released

New E15 base platform released

In January 2024, Elphinstone released the new E15 15-tonne base platform. The first machine to be released was the E15 Agitator 7m³ (pictured). Future models in the range include an E15 Delivery (nominal 15-tonne capacity and 8.8tm crane), E15 Flat Deck (nominal 16-tonne capacity), E15 Water Tank (nominal 13,000L capacity), and E15 Fuel & Lube (Diesel, Lubricants, Grease, Coolant, DEF, Water & Air).

2024

E15 Agitator 7m3

First E15 Agitators dispatched to Ernest Henry Mine

Elphinstone dispatched the first E15 Agitators to Evolution Mining’s Ernest Henry Mine north of Cloncurry in Queensland. A standout feature on both machines were the pink and blue 7m3 agitator bowls with breast and prostate cancer awareness decals signifying Evolution Mining’s investment in cancer research.

 


Dale Elphinstone

Mining Legends interview with Dale Elphinstone

The Mining Legends Project, a zero-hours rebuild of an R2900G loader, was a private-sector initiative that provided significant proceeds to several critical organisations and charities around Australia. Mining Legends recently sat down with the creator of the famous R2900G, Mr Dale Elphinstone. They spoke with Dale about the Mining Legends Project and his thoughts on the initiative. The Elphinstone Group and Westrac donated the engine which contributed to making the project rebuild a success. For more information about the initiative, visit mininglegends.com

Watch Interview

Elphinstone Cat 769B surface dump truck

The 1975 Elphinstone Cat 769B surface dump truck with innovative ejector tray

Dale Elphinstone first began modifying Cat surface mining equipment to suit underground applications on his father’s farm in Burnie Tasmania, in 1975. One such modification included the re-engineering of a Cat 769B surface dump truck to meet underground requirements. Dale (bottom-left) and his team are pictured testing the modified dump truck and the innovative ejector tray at a local quarry. Forty-five years later, Elphinstone continues to design and manufacture safe, reliable and innovative surface and underground mining equipment, commissioned and delivered to loyal and valued customers around the world.