World’s Largest Earth Mover ‘Big Muskie’ Destroyed With Explosives

Jack Phillips
9/9/2015
Updated:
3/9/2016

“Big Muskie,” as it was called, was a massive, coal mining rig owned by the Central Ohio Coal Company that was operated from 1969 until 1991.

So what happened to the gigantic earth-mover? It was broken down with explosives.

The above video shows the giant machine getting dismantled in 1999. The scrap metal was sold off for $700,000.

“Big Muskie” had a 220-cubic-yard bucket, and it was considered the largest single-bucket digging machine ever created. It cost about $25 million in 1969, which is the equivalent of around $161 million today when adjusted for inflation.

Here’s a longer video (that’s obviously from the 1990s) on the earth-moving machine:

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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