Choosing the right mining equipment hire option can significantly impact your project’s efficiency, costs, and overall success. Whether you’re managing a seasonal exploration project or a large-scale mining operation, understanding the advantages, limitations, and costs of short-term versus long-term hire is essential.
This guide will help you make an informed decision for your next project.
What Is Mining Equipment Hire?
Mining equipment hire allows companies to access heavy machinery without the upfront costs of purchase. It’s a flexible solution for projects with varying durations or resource requirements.
The two main hire models are:
- Short-term hire: Daily, weekly, or monthly rental agreements, ideal for temporary projects.
- Long-term hire: Multi-month or multi-year contracts that can often include maintenance packages and lower rates.
Additional Considerations:
- Wet hire: Equipment comes with a skilled operator.
- Dry hire: Machinery only, requiring your team to operate it.
For high-quality, reliable equipment hire, explore Axis Hire’s mining equipment for hire.
Short-Term Hire: Flexibility for Temporary Projects
Short-term hire is perfect for projects with limited duration, such as site exploration, trial runs, seasonal contracts or even waiting for new purchased equipment to arrive.
Benefits of Short-Term Hire:
- Maximum flexibility to scale equipment up or down.
- Ongoing ability to adjust the machinery lineup as the job evolves.
- Access to modern machinery without long-term commitment.
- No heavy capital burden
- No longer-term storage or maintenance responsibilities.
Short-term hire is ideal for projects that require agility and minimal long-term commitment.
Long-Term Hire: Stability and Cost Efficiency
Long-term mining equipment hire is suited for projects that require continuous equipment use over several months or years.
Advantages of Long-Term Hire:
- Lower cost per day or month, making budgeting predictable.
- Avoidance of equipment ownership financing costs including management of capital outlay, depreciation, and insurance.
- Maintenance and service packages can often be included.
- Complexities associated with maintaining the registrations, certifications, maintenance schedules, and critical parts inventories, are removed.
- Access to modern equipment and professional support to maintain equipment availability for ongoing operations.
Long-term hire helps to avoid a heavy capital burden, can free up cash flow for other areas of the business and remove the financial drag of owning underutilised gear for prolonged periods of time.
Other Considerations: Short-Term vs Long-Term Hire
Other key factors to consider when selecting a hire option include:
- Equipment type and size: Excavators, Graders, Dump Trucks, Dozers, Loaders, and Water Carts have different rates.
- Equipment customisation: Having access to experienced equipment hire professionals that can work with you to develop a custom build to suit the specifics of your operating requirements.
- Wet vs dry hire: Including an operator increases costs but may be essential if skilled staff are unavailable.
- Maintenance and fuel: Long-term hire can often include more flexible servicing options, whereas short-term hire may leave these responsibilities to the hirer.
- Transport and mobilisation: The cost of which can increase for remote locations.
Comparative Summary:
Short-term hire
- Slightly higher rates, ideal for projects under six months, enables rapid adjustments to the machinery lineup if the scope or project duration changes.
Long-term hire
- Provides more options to lock in discounted rates (including hire/buy options), better for continuous operations, helps to avoid heavy capital outlay and ownership of an aging fleet.
Axis Hire can provide all types of flexible hire options that eliminate upfront purchase costs while giving access to modern, reliable equipment.
For a reliable cost effective solution, high-quality machinery and expert support, check out Axis Hire’s mining equipment for hire.
Act Now
Contact Axis Hire today to discuss your project requirements and receive a tailored solution that maximises productivity, minimises downtime, and keeps your project on budget.
