Land Clearing and Earthworks

Earthworks refer to engineering works that are created by moving or processing portions of the surface of the earth. This unformed rock or soil is then moved elsewhere and formed into a given shape for a specific purpose. These works usually involve backfill or machine excavation and fill. Earthworks can serve a civil engineering purpose or a military function. In a civil engineering setting earthworks include roads, dams, railway beds, mines, berms, levees, canals, causeways and land grading meant to stabilize slopes or to change the topography of a work site. Earthwork fortifications are used in military engineering because they are cheap and the resources are easily available. They include moats, motte-and-bailey castles, sod walls, hill forts, berms and trenches.


Earthworks especially bulk earthworks are performed by using two methods: excavation of an area of ground or adding earth-based materials to construct a new area. Specialized computer software ensures that as much of the excavated materials are reused. The excavation done is categorized into two either by the material being excavated or by the purpose of carrying out the excavation. Under the material category, there are four general categories which are: Easy, medium, medium to hard or hard. However there are some less general classifications such as earth, rock, muck, unclassified and topsoil excavations. Under the purpose excavation the categories are roadway, stripping, drainage, channel, footing, bridge, borrow and dredge excavation.

There are plenty of companies in Australia that offer earthworks and mining services. Because of the nature of these works and the equipment used, they need to be licensed, have equipment or machinery that is regularly serviced and employees who have training in the different areas to prevent injury both to themselves and the public because of substandard work on the earthworks like railway beds. The equipment used is heavy construction equipment to be able to handle the large amounts of earth material used. The equipment include dump trucks, bulldozers, rollers, graders, hydraulic excavators which are good for mining, drag line excavators, diggers, shovels, back hoes and loaders. These all require to be maintained in an appropriate environment.

These various companies whose contacts can be found online offer the following services related to land clearing, mining and earthworks: grading, bulldozing, hauling, tailing dam lifts and construction, site rehabilitation, general excavation work, structural demolition, uprooting of tree and vegetation, boulder removal, trenching and pipe laying, embankments, winter storage facilities and storage lagoons as well as mining services like valve maintenance and gas management.