Earth Mover

Earth Mover is a side quest in Fallout 76.

Quick walkthrough
The quest starts after claiming the workshop at Mount Blair. Once the excavator is activated, it will collect a wide range of metal scrap for 30 minutes.

Detailed walkthrough
After completing the Claim Workshop quest for the Mount Blair workshop, head down into the Rockhound's control room to access the terminal. Choose the first entry regarding the Rockhound's power source, and this will unlock the ability to craft ignition cores to power up the Rockhound. There is a tinker's workbench in the small hallway behind the control room where the cores can be made under the "Quest Items" section. Each core requires a fixed amount of lead, nuclear waste, and steel. Once four are crafted, place each one into the four reactors around the periphery of the Rockhound. Once all four are placed, return to the control room, and hit the large red button in the center of the console to activate the Rockhound. The giant, lumbering, bucket-wheel excavator will rumble to life, and for the next 30 minutes, will harvest various mineral scrap, which can be collected from the Level 2 locked collection bin at the back of the Rockhound's giant scoop excavator arm, though it will be unlocked for the owner of the workshop.

However, during the 30 minutes the Rockhound is running, several Defend Workshop quests will occur, with a scorchbeast being one possible threat to the lumbering giant. Fortify the Rockhound with various turrets as needed to deal with the random enemies or scorchbeast that attack the Rockhound. The Rockhound is defended by a heavy gun emplacement under the collection arm, which proves valuable dealing with the scorchbeast due to its position under the Rockhound, providing it with cover so it can fire its heavy explosive rounds at the flying enemy while maintaining minimal damage to itself.

Once the 30 minutes elapse, the quest is completed. Collect any remaining minerals the Rockhound recovered before departing the area.

After completing this quest for the first time, it can be repeated as many times as the player characters want since they can craft ignition cores from then on to power the Rockhound for another collection of minerals, but it depends on if they have ownership of the Mount Blair workshop or not.