Tag Archives: Kevin MacLean

MacLean ready to highlight growing African presence at Mining Indaba

A MacLean EV Series™ carrier fitted with a third-party emulsion charging plant is part of the company’s expanded presence at this year’s edition of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa.

MacLean Africa will be showcasing this latest battery-electric mining vehicle (BEV) offering outside the CTICC in front of the Cullinan Hotel during the event, which runs from February 7-10.

The Sudbury-based company has had an established, in-country presence in South Africa since 2001. This was the company’s first ever international branch and, since that time, the local sales and support team has grown in line with the expansion of the MacLean fleet deployment across the continent. The company now supports MacLean mining vehicles at customer operations across South Africa, as well as in Namibia, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali.

MacLean Africa General Manager, John-Paul Theunissen, said: “Our message to the African mining community at Indaba is simple and I hope, resonant – MacLean is manufacturing and supporting mining equipment that is custom designed for underground mining on this continent, supported by an in-country team of skilled engineers, product managers, field service technicians, and repair and rebuild mechanics. We are here for the long haul; we have the critical mass of talent and parts and manufacturing capacity and we have your full fleet of production support mining vehicles, ready to get to work.”

MacLean President, Kevin MacLean, added: “I’m excited by what MacLean Africa has already done in terms of building out the MacLean fleet footprint across Africa and I’m even more excited by what the future holds for us in this crucial mining region. We can walk with customers as they explore options for the rollout of a battery-electric, automated, and data-rich mobile fleet that will drive the ‘no boots on the ground’ mining of the 21st century. We have it all – the present and the future of underground mining mobile equipment, technology, and services. We are above ground where your fleet is underground in Africa.”

This year is an important one for MacLean as it marks the company’s 50th year of operations. What started out as a niche, custom equipment solutions provider for the Canadian industry in the 1970s has evolved to what it now claims is now the world’s largest Canada-based manufacturer of underground mining vehicles, with a worldwide staffing contingent that surpasses 1,000 employees across four continents.

MacLean details battery-electric vehicle order for Glencore’s Onaping Depth

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.”

MacLean opens doors to R&D facility, shows off latest mining innovations

MacLean has opened the doors to its Research & Training Facility in Sudbury, Ontario, for the first time since acquiring the underground R&D lab in 2018.

The company welcomed industry VIPs to tour its facility and get behind-the-scenes access to the range of MacLean product development spanning mobile equipment electrification, automation and digitalisation.

Guests had the chance tour the ‘Ducky Decline’ to get demonstrations of MacLean ground support installation robotics, as well as video remote control for the secondary reduction application in the underground mining cycle. In addition, the open house also provided the chance for visitors to get up close with a battery-electric version of the company’s latest model of shotcrete sprayer – the SS5 with Quickscan thickness imaging (graphic below) and Chemsave accelerant savings technologies – as well as the latest addition to the MacLean Utility Vehicle product line – the GR5 Grader – purpose-designed for the rigours of the underground environment.

“The pandemic didn’t set us back in terms of pushing forward with product development, but it did force us to delay being able to show the mining world just how much of an innovation engine this underground facility truly is for us,” MacLean President, Kevin MacLean, said. “I was thrilled to be there with Don this week to welcome everybody and deliver the message in person: MacLean is committed to investing in paradigm-changing mining vehicle innovation that helps make the industry safer and more productive.”

Stella Holloway, MacLean Vice President of Northern Ontario Operations, added: “Our Research & Training Facility is also an active collaboration space with the broader industry, through our existing training partnership with Cambrian College’s Centre for Smart Mining and the great work we’re doing training the next generation of mine worker. Now that we have the ability to open our doors and show, not just tell industry colleagues what we’re doing as a mining innovators, it feels great – I look forward to this type of in-person dialogue getting reinstated and ramping up in the months and years to come.”

Maarten van Koppen, MacLean Vice President of Product Management, said the company was cognisant that there are hurdles to broader adoption of electrification, automation and digitalisation across the global mining industry, but he stressed that the upside benefits meant the effort was worthwhile.

“That’s why having this facility is so critical to our ability to deliver mobile equipment solutions that not only solve today’s problems, but also create the foundation for the next generations of mine design and operations around the underground mining globe,” he said.

David Jacques, MacLean VP of Engineering, stated: “The company as a whole persevered through the pandemic to get rigs designed, built, shipped and commissioned, which wasn’t always straightforward. It’s why they call it ‘innovation’ – not just continually improving the way things are currently done, but also asking: is there a different way to tackle this problem that will deliver paradigm-changing safety and productivity dividends? This is how we think at MacLean, and the Research & Training Facility allows us to put that philosophy into action.”

MacLean battery-electric support fleet set for Odyssey gold mine

A fleet of MacLean battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are set to operate at the Odyssey Mine, one of Canada’s largest underground gold mining projects, after the OEM and Canadian Malartic Partnership agreed on a fleet order.

The mine, currently under construction, is owned 50:50 by Yamana Gold Inc and Agnico Eagle Ltd. The partners have already said it is expected to be one of the most modernised electric underground mines, with all major mobile production equipment (such as trucks, scoop trams, jumbos, bolters, and longhole drill rigs electric powered).

The MacLean BEV fleet at Odyssey Mine will be used for ground support installation, explosives charging, materials transport, and construction and maintenance, the OEM said.

The Odyssey Mine, located near the Town of Malartic in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of northern Quebec, will extract ore from an orebody that lies underneath the historical East Malartic Gold Mines, whose Mine Manager from the late 1930s to late 1940s was none other than ‘Ducky’ MacLean, father of Don MacLean, who founded his namesake mobile equipment company in 1973 and spent close to a decade of his childhood in the Malartic mine camp.

Don MacLean’s son Kevin MacLean now leads the mining vehicle manufacturer, having assumed the role of company President in 2009. He said: “Every fleet order is special but this one has particular resonance because it connects the MacLean family past with the MacLean company future in the form of battery-powered mining vehicles. The underground project of the partnership provides a perfect opportunity for MacLean mobile equipment to return to East Malartic in support of diesel-free operations.”

Don MacLean added: “I’m thrilled to see underground mining coming back to Malartic and grateful that the partnership has put their faith in MacLean BEVs to get the job done safely and productively.”

Tony Caron, MacLean VP of Quebec, Nunavut, and Latin America, said: “The fact that the MacLean fleet in Malartic will represent a return to Don’s childhood roots adds a special dynamic to this story, one that everyone at the MacLean branch in Val-d’Or will keep at heart as we dedicate ourselves to supporting the success of Odyssey Mine.”

The partners approved construction to transform the Odyssey Project into the Odyssey Mine over the coming years in February, spelling out plans to extract 19,000 t of ore at an estimated grade of about 2.75 g/t Au and roughly 5,000 t/d of waste rock during peak operation. It will be accessed by a ramp and a shaft estimated to be 1,800 m deep.

Battery-electric, teleremote and VR tech to feature on MacLean’s MINExpo booth

The MacLean focus at MINExpo 2021 will be squarely on the latest outputs from the company’s technology development efforts in the areas of electrification, automation and digitalisation, the company has confirmed.

Show updates on September 13-15 in Las Vegas include the latest on the MacLean battery-electric product line, teleremote technology, as well as telemetry and virtual reality training technology to round out the clean, automated and data-rich design philosophy that is at the core of the company’s ‘Application Intelligence’ technology campaign, it said.

“We have been doing fit-for-purpose mobile equipment manufacturing for the past 50 years so in one sense, ‘Application Intelligence’ is simply a continuation of the MacLean value proposition to the global mining industry,” MacLean President, Kevin MacLean, says. “The only difference is the ramp up of our technology development capabilities and collaboration with producers and other OEMs, to make the underground environment safer and more productive. Understanding the mining cycle and designing solutions that fit the job is what the ‘engineering’ means in MacLean Engineering.”

Adam Howse, MacLean Business Development Manager for the Western US & Canada, said: “How far we have come already and how far we still intend to go in designing underground mining vehicles that are emissions-free and able to be highly automated in a multi-OEM environment – this is what we will be sharing first-hand with booth guests at the show.

“At the same time, this global story of the evolution of smart mining equipment is complemented by a local story for us in northern Nevada, where we established a branch in 2020 and where we continue to expand our aftermarket support capabilities for customers in the historic Elko mining camp as well as across the western US.”

The launch of the MacLean ‘Application Intelligence’ campaign includes a new corporate website that will be a hub for information about the full and expanding MacLean product line for both battery electric and diesel-powered mining vehicles.

MacLean explained: “Application Intelligence represents the potential contained within the overlap of on-vehicle technology development, mobile equipment manufacturing expertise and deep knowledge of the mining cycle. It is the driving ethos behind the electrification, automation and digitalisation efforts that continue to evolve the MacLean mining vehicle product lines that span the ground support, secondary reduction and utility vehicle categories.

“This includes the next generation of MacLean ground support installation that will include robotics engineered life underground, building on the 30-year and recent 500-production unit production milestone for the 900 Series scissor bolter product line.”

MacLean ships 500th 900 Series scissor bolter to Agnico’s Goldex mine

The MacLean 900 Series scissor bolter design turned 30 years old in 2021 and the manufacturer has recently shipped out production unit #500 to a long-standing customer – Agnico Eagle’s Goldex mine in Val d’Or, Quebec.

The first commercialised 900 Series unit was introduced in the early 1990s in Ontario. Three decades later, the safety, versatility, productivity and quality of installation this mining vehicle provides has helped change the way ground support installation is conducted in hard-rock mines across Canada, MacLean says.

“This manufacturing milestone, representing the collective efforts of so many people at the company over the years, is something that I’m proud to celebrate and deeply grateful for,” MacLean President, Kevin MacLean, says. “It also underscores the importance of long-standing customer relationships, so it’s fitting that the 500th unit is going to Agnico Eagle in the Abitibi, where the MacLean mining story started and where the company’s future will be written in support of Agnico Eagle operations in Quebec, Nunavut and Mexico.”

Dominic Caron – Agnico Eagle’s Strategic Procurement Superintendent, added: “At Agnico Eagle, we are very pleased to be a part of Maclean’s success and celebrate with them this important milestone. We have had a long-lasting business relationship with Maclean and, throughout our operations, our people greatly appreciate the products and support they provide. We hope to continue building on this relationship in the future.”

While a ceremony will be held underground at the mine later this month, to mark the milestone, MacLean says it is also lining up releases about its next generation bolter, which will include leading-edge robotics and remote control.

Steve Denomme, Product Line Manager for Bolting, explained: “If you want to talk paradigm change, this is it. The next 30 years of influence could be even greater that than the first 30, so I’m honoured to be part of the MacLean team working in close engagement with our customer base to transform bolting ideas into working solutions for the mines of the 21st century. We’re using advanced vehicle technologies to their greatest benefit in the underground environment, always in the name of safety and productivity.”

MacLean Engineering to showcase VR tech at CIM show

MacLean Engineering says its newly developed virtual reality (VR) bolter technology will be front and centre on its booth at this year’s CIM Convention, in Montreal, from April 28-May 1.

The VR tool on show will provide visitors with a hands-on experience of the immersive training world of virtual ground support installation, the company said.

Two other MacLean technology initiatives will also be highlighted in convention presentations – battery-electric vehicle (BEV) material haulage trial results; and, real-time vehicle monitoring that delivers a shortlist of actionable data to support operator safety, machine life and predictive maintenance practices.

MacLean’s Vehicle Monitoring System (VMS) technology package will be discussed during an Innovation Stage presentation on the trade show floor on Monday afternoon, while MacLean’s BEV material haulage ramp trial results from 2018 will be the focus of a technical session on the Wednesday afternoon of the convention.

“This past year we made significant investments in our in-house technology development capabilities,” said MacLean President, Kevin MacLean.  “This means we now have our own teams of vehicle monitoring programmers and remote-control mechatronics experts – a whole new generation of MacLean employee, one that will help propel the company’s product development along the path from remote to semi-autonomous to fully-autonomous fleet operations.”

“Our 2018 purchase of an underground test facility in Sudbury gives these new teams a world-class underground mining lab for technology prototyping and product testing, all at the service of delivering safer, more productive, less costly fleet operations to our global customer base,” added MacLean Founder and Chairman, Don MacLean.

“Maclean’s technology push is closely linked to the imperative of training to ensure safe and sustainable adoption of new technology in the underground environment,” said Patrick Marshall, Director of Mining Technology. “As mining companies go deeper and to more remote locations to chase economic orebodies, they are necessarily going to be operating in jurisdictions without longstanding, experienced mining labour forces. So, the focus needs to be on training and that means providing the whole range of tools and expert trainers, required to build knowledge to be passed along at site level on an ongoing basis. Our VR Bolter is one of those tools – a highly transportable, accessible and engaging learning environment developed expressly for the next generation of miner who has grown up in a digital age, just as mining itself is joining the digital age in a significant way.”