A backhoe is a versatile piece of heavy equipment with a digging bucket on a two-part articulated arm (the backhoe) at the rear of a tractor, and a loader (a scoop or bucket) at the front, hence it’s often called a backhoe loader.
The backhoe is one of the most efficient types of equipment for bedrock cleanup. It is most often used for the ex- traction of pay gravel but can also be used for excavation of overburden.
The machine has almost no capacity for transportation of material and for that reason is used in conjunction with either front-end loaders, trucks, or in some cases, bulldozers.
Depending on bucket selection, the machine can handle a variety of ground conditions including clays, poorly sorted gravels, tree roots, and vegetation. Digging depths of over 30 ft are obtainable with certain backhoes, but production capability decreases rapidly as maximum digging depth is approached [1].
Backhoes typically used in the western United States are capable of excavating from 95 to 475 LCY/h. Sizes range from 105 hp machines with 0.5 yd3 buckets to 325 hp units with 3.75-yd3 buckets. Capacity is contingent upon digging difficulty, operator ability, swing angle, digging depth, and obstructions [1].
The backhoe is ideal for situations where bedrock cleanup is critical, obstructions exist in the mining area, and other means of transporting gravel are available.
Reference
[1] S. Stebbins, “Cost Estimation Handbook for Small Placer Mines I.C. 9170,” 1986. Accessed: Aug. 26, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Cost-Estimation-Handbook-for-Small-Placer-Mines-Stebbins/94c188525178d65cc964f7af20fff0182d8c1c14
