Equipment Appraisal Blog | Understanding Machinery Appraisals

What Kind of Equipment is Checked Out in a Mining Equipment Appraisal?

Posted by Equipment Appraisal Services on Mon, Jan 20, 2020 @ 08:00 AM

mining equipment valuation

When you're having a mining equipment appraisal performed for the first time, it's not unusual to wonder what kind of equipment will be covered during the process. The short answer is: all of it. There are certain high-level pieces of equipment that should always be covered when you're having your mining company's equipment valued, to ensure that you have proper documentation of that value in case of a cave-in, mudslide or similar event that causes that equipment to be lost. Here's a quick look at major categories of equipment.

 

What Kind of Equipment is Checked Out in a Mining Equipment Appraisal?

  • Excavators: In the old days, mining was accomplished by pick and shovel, but the advent of machine power has made excavators the equipment of choice to get the job done quickly and efficiently.
  • Draglines: Used by miners to drag dirt away from the surface to reveal minerals beneath the surface, draglines do an exceptional job of quickly removing tons of dirt in a single pass, presenting a mineable surface for excavation.
  • Roof Bolters: To improve safety and reduce the risk of cave-ins during mining operations, roof bolters are used to force bolts into a rock face using hydraulic power. 
  • Longwall Miners: With hydraulic systems that support the mine ceiling during operations, longwall miners remove rectangular sections of minerals, allowing pockets of a mineral to be removed without disturbing as much of the surrounding rock.
  • Continuous Miners: To remove mineral deposits a bit at a time from a large deposit, continuous miners feature large, rotating teeth to get the job done.
  • Rock Dusters: Used to prevent fires, rock dusters spray nonflammable rock dust onto mining faces in coal mining, to prevent the coal from catching fire during mining operations.
  • Shuttle Cars and Scoops: To transport minerals from the mining location to collection points within the mine, shuttle cars provide essential transportation to scoops, which finish removing the minerals from the mine entirely.
  • Haul Trucks: Capable of hauling hundreds of tons of dirt, rock, minerals or other material in a single payload, haul trucks are huge dump trucks, specially designed to carry extreme loads.
  • Highwall Miners: When exposed surfaces from open-pit mining reveal horizontal seams of minerals, highwall miners are used to extract this material to optimize mining efficiency.
  • Bulldozers: Used to push large amounts of material around, bulldozers can be part of loading, clearing and scraping operations to help reveal mineral seams to mining operations.
  • Graders: In open-pit mining, graders help keep the roads into and out of the pit operational to allow heavy equipment to pass and continue operating.
  • Conveyors: When rock is crushed or mineral material needs to be moved around the mining site, conveyors help get the job done quickly and efficiently.

Though this should give you a solid idea of what type of machinery is evaluated during a mining equipment appraisal, it is by no means an exhaustive list. Other items that can be evaluated include transporting vehicles, rock crushers, ventilation systems, laboratory testing machinery and other assets that help keep your mining company operating in the black on a daily basis. However, it's important that you have the appraisal performed by an accredited equipment appraiser, so you can ensure that you're getting unbiased calculations from an independent third party who has no personal stake in the outcome of the appraisal.

Tags: Mining Equipment Valuation

What Kind of Personal Property is Covered in a Corporate Office FF&E Appraisal?

Posted by Equipment Appraisal Services on Mon, Jan 06, 2020 @ 08:00 AM

Corp office FF&E

When you have an office with a lot of furnishings, equipment and other items, those possessions have value, a value that is often overlooked in accounting and business appraisal. Corporate office FF&E appraisal looks at the value of your business' furnishings, fixtures and equipment, so that you have a better picture of what those assets are really worth for your business. Here's a look at the different kinds of personal property are valued during this type of equipment appraisal.

 

What Kind of Personal Property is Covered in a Corporate Office FF&E Appraisal?

  • Furniture. From your lobby sofas to your break room tables and all of the desks, chairs, credenzas, filing cabinets, bookcases and other furniture in between, your office furniture is a big investment in your office's functionality. Because it's important to recognize the difference in value between commercial and residential furniture, an appraisal helps protect that value.
  • Furnishings. Beyond your furniture, the other items you have in your office to give it some character and personality can be a big investment. From the customized artwork in the lobby to the fountain that brings tranquility to your breakroom, these items have significant value that needs to be defined, characterized and documented against any future loss, such as a fire, flood or other disasters.
  • Fixtures. Do you have display cases? Brochure racks? Other items that help to showcase your business and everything it represents? These fixtures are often developed at significant costs to help promote your business, costs that should be protected. By documenting what these fixtures are worth, you can more easily determine reasonable costs for replacement down the road.
  • Computers. What is the value of your office computers? Between the time that you purchase your office's computer equipment and the point that you retire it, how much has it changed? Having the current value of this equipment makes it easier to replace in any number of situations, whether it's a power surge, lost laptops during travel or that cup of coffee that wasn't quite far enough away from the keyboard.
  • Other IT Equipment. What other machinery do you have in your office that keeps your IT assets running? Routers, hubs, printers, scanners: whatever IT equipment you have in your office, being able to prove the value of that equipment is important to your bottom line, especially given its often high market cost.
  • Specialty Equipment. What other specialty equipment do you have in your office? A Keurig in the break room? Kitchen equipment in the cafeteria? Video games in the break room? Whatever other equipment you have in your office that isn't otherwise covered can be looked at under this type of assessment.

By having a corporate office FF&E appraisal performed on the personal property in your office, you can have a much better idea of what those items are actually worth, making it easier to leverage that value for your company's growth, make smarter sell or no-sell decisions, fight a bad tax assessment or get the items replaced during an insurance claim. However, it's vital that you have the appraisal performed the right way, using an accredited equipment appraiser. Because they don't have a vested interest in the outcome of the appraisal, they'll provide you with the most accurate, unbiased valuation based on tested methodologies that have stood the test of time. 

Tags: Corporate Office FF&E Valuation