The freakishly colossal machinery is so big that it requires assistance from as many as 27 miners to operate

Jan 28, 2015 15:35 GMT  ·  By

Here is a piece of news that will surely appeal to those of you with an appetite for destruction: miners in Kazakhstan are now using a mammoth saw to slice through entire mountains of coal.

The machinery, featured in the photos included in the gallery below, is in use at the Bogatyr Mine. It is so big that, just to keep up and running, it requires assistance from as many as 27 miners.

Introducing the biggest saw ever

Let's face it, all it takes to come to terms with the fact that this saw is the absolute biggest anywhere in the world is to have one quick look at it and how small cars seem to be when compared to it.

Still, for those who love and adore figures, it must be said that this machinery stands an impressive 45 meters (almost 150 feet) tall and tips the scale at a jaw-dropping 45,000 tons. The saw itself has a diameter of 12 meters (nearly 40 feet).

Photographer Alexander Popov, who came face to face with it while documenting the mining industry in Kazakhstan, says that it is the biggest machine he has until now had the chance to lay eyes on.

“I have never seen a machine as big as this one although I have seen many powerful machines in the past,” the Russian photographer told the press in an interview, as cited by Metro.

The saw is insanely efficient too

Apparently, one such massive saw, referred to as a bucket wheel excavator, comes with a price tag of ₤66 million (roughly €88.4 million / $100 million). Then again, the machinery is well worth this money.

True, the mammoth installation can only move at a speed of about 0.3 miles (0.5 kilometers) per hour. Still, when up and running, the saw can destroy entire mountains of coal in a matter of minutes.

Thus, it is said that it can mine an impressive 4,500 tons of coal in just one hour. To mine this much coal, workers would have to chip away at a mountain for several weeks straight.

“It is used in the mining of coal and can actually mine 4,500 tons of coal per hour, it really is an extraordinary piece of equipment,” said Russian photographer Alexander Popov.

This saw is the absolute biggest in the world (5 Images)

Massive saw makes cars look like garden gnomes
The saw is now used to mine coal in KazakhstanThe machinery stands 45 meters (150 feet) tall
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