With the Onaping Depth Project in Ontario, Canada, advancing towards production, MacLean has announced that its battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) have been selected by Glencore’s Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations (Glencore Sudbury INO) as one of the mobile equipment suppliers for this deep mine under the existing Craig Mine in Onaping, a longtime base metals mining hub in the Greater Sudbury region.
These details follow on from an announcement from Peter Xavier, Vice PresidentGlencore, Sudbury Operations, announcing the fleet details at the ‘BEV In-Depth: Mines to Mobility’ conference in Sudbury, late last month.
The MacLean BEV fleet at Onaping will consist of support units across the mining vehicle categories of explosives charging, secondary reduction, shotcrete spraying, concrete transport and utility vehicles, MacLean said.
MacLean launched its EV SeriesTM product line in 2016 and, since that time, the company has gone on to design, manufacture and commission over 40 pieces of mobile mining equipment in five provinces across Canada, as well one state in the United States and one BEV unit recently shipped to South Africa for trialling in that country’s mining sector.
Collectively, the MacLean full-fleet electrification solution has amassed over 120,000 working hours underground. Connecting the mining cycle to the battery cycle with the right amount of best-in-class battery, on-board charging and vehicle telemetry technology has allowed the company to rapidly progress its product development and introduction of MacLean BEVs into the industry, for customers looking to maximise the operational benefits of a diesel-free mining.
“The 100-plus employees at the MacLean service and support branch in Sudbury, along with the underground Research & Training Facility just down the road in Lively, are an integral part of the economy in Sudbury and this local footprint will be a cornerstone for our project support to Glencore Sudbury INO across the life of this mine,” Stella Holloway, MacLean Vice President of Northern Ontario Operations, said. “Onaping Depth is an example to the mining world for how to successfully develop and operate a diesel-free, deep mine, so we are keenly aware of the high bar that has been set and are excited to step up and ensure the success of the MacLean EV Series fleet as it contributes to the wider success of the Glencore project as whole.”
MacLean President, Kevin MacLean, said: “We are deeply honoured to be chosen by Glencore Sudbury INO as one of the mobile equipment suppliers for this keystone project, as they advance towards production. I spent my early years growing up in Levack, when my father was working underground as a Division Foreman at the former Levack Mine, so this BEV fleet sale to Onaping Depth has special meaning for me. MacLean is committed to doing its part to ensuring the success of this project, as the entire mining world looks on.”
