Canadian mining equipment rental company Heavy Metal Equipment & Rentals has become one of the largest in the world thanks to the addition of 45 Caterpillar 797 rigid frame haul trucks to its rental fleet which together with 10 new 797Fs it has on order from Finning, and its existing fleet of 76 of the ultra class trucks, will bring the total to 131 by end 2026.
The massive growth step is the result of two separate agreements. Effective December 1, 2025 Heavy Metal took over all 26 of North American Construction Group’s Caterpillar 797s in the oilsands. The second purchase is for 19 Caterpillar 797Fs from BHP Group in Chile, South America. Heavy Metal President and CEO Jesse van der Werf said it is finalising plans for this fleet and expects that a portion of it will be moved to Canada to support existing customer demand, while a portion will be rented in Chile to copper mines.
He adds: “This grows what was already the largest privately held fleet of 797s in the world and increases it by a further 72%. Combined with our new 797 focused maintenance facility at Fort McKay and the expected completion of our maintenance shop at Fort Hills mine next summer, we are well positioned as the only provider of fully maintained 797 rentals in Canada and one of the only in the world as we expand into Australia. More to come on our expansion into Australia and Chile.”
The 797 remains the largest Caterpillar mechanical drive mining truck in the world, capable of hauling up to 400 tons at speeds of 55 km/h. Heavy Metal has major rental contracts in the oil sands including with Suncor at Fort Hills and Syncrude at Mildred Lake. The company offers multiple rental options including short-term heavy equipment rental for the duration of a project or long-term heavy equipment rental that will preserve capital by mitigating the cost of a new piece of heavy equipment.
Heavy Metals’ head office remains in Camrose, Alberta, and it recently also opened a major new 100,000 ft2 service centre – the Heavy Metal Garage – in Fort McKay, Alberta. It also has a rebuilds facility in Red Lake, Alberta and another location in Spruce Grove, Alberta; while in the US it has a facility in Elko, Nevada serving that region including Elko, Battle Mountain and Winnemucca.
Source: im-mining.com
