Tag Archives: Patrick Marshall

MacLean to bolster parts support and field services at Oyu Tolgoi with ULE agreement

Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , ,

MacLean has entered into a dealer agreement with ULE Equipment Company, the full-service heavy equipment specialists based in Mongolia, that, it says, will improve MacLean parts support and field service capabilities at the Rio Tinto majority-owned Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in the Southern Gobi Desert.

The partnership between MacLean and ULE offers Oyu Tolgoi a unique blend of global expertise and local understanding, MacLean says. MacLean’s decades of experience in underground mining equipment, combined with ULE’s deep-rooted presence in the Mongolian market, can provide significant benefits for the operations, according to Gerelt-Od Rinchin (Jerry), Executive Director, ULE. This new partnership could bolster the development of more underground mines in Mongolia, similar to Oyu Tolgoi.

“We’re thrilled to have ULE as an in-country partner in Mongolia, at the truly multi-generational Oyu Tolgoi mine,” Patrick Marshall, MacLean VP of Technology, says. “ULE have been adding value at the Oyu Tolgoi mine for close to two decades with innovative products, services and support. We look forward to adding another pillar of value to Rio Tinto by pursuing this Mongolian partnership.”

Jari Tuorila, VP Australasia for MacLean, added: “The size of the orebody and the expected mine life for this project in southern Mongolia make it almost unique in the mining world, so the team at MacLean Australasia recognizes the importance of this project and is taking a long view when it comes to selling and supporting MacLean mining vehicles into it. We have a good foundation to build on, with the early success of our LR3 Boom Lifts currently working at site, and we are eager to work with ULE to identify other support vehicle needs that Oyu Tolgoi will have in the months and years to come.”

He added: “Even though our Perth branch team is in the same time zone as Oyu Tolgoi, we are aware how remote the Southern Gobi Desert is and how critical it is to have a world-class business partner that will help us maximise the success of MacLean mining vehicles that get commissioned, trained up and supported at site, working closely with the heavy equipment experts at ULE.”

MacLean SS5 battery-electric shotcrete sprayer to be tested at AngloGold’s Sunrise Dam

Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , ,

MacLean is set to showcase its SS5 battery-electric vehicle (BEV) Shotcrete Sprayer at the Underground Operators Conference 2023 (UGOPS), in Brisbane, Australia, next week, but it also has one eye on the unit’s first mine site trial at the AngloGold Ashanti-owned Sunrise Dam operation in Western Australia.

Attendees of UGOPS will get a first-hand look at the EV Series™ product on the company’s booth. This battery-electric shotcrete sprayer has been put through its paces at the Maclean Research & Training Facility in Sudbury, Ontario, and is equipped with the likes of Quickscan thickness imaging and Chemsave accelerant savings technologies.

Alongside celebrating its 50th year of existence as an Ontario-headquartered company, 2023 is a landmark year for MacLean Australia, with multiple MacLean BEVs starting to arrive in-country to be introduced to Australian mining companies and mining contractors. One such contractor is Barminco, which is set to receive the SS5 for testing at Sunrise Dam. Sandvik’s 65-t-payload battery-electric truck, the TH665B, is also set for field testing at the same operation.

MacLean has had a full-service parts and technical support branch in Perth, Western Australia, for over a decade and, in 2021, opened a second service and support branch in Orange, New South Wales, to support a growing fleet of MacLean mining vehicles in underground mining hubs in the eastern region of the country.

Jari Tuorila, MacLean GM for Australasia, said: “We are really looking forward to the UGOPS event and showing – not just telling – the Australian mining industry exactly what the value proposition of MacLean EV Series product line is. When we say, ‘EV-proven, EV-ready’, we mean it. It’s not just a slogan. Over 50 MacLean BEVs have been commissioned around the mining world since the MacLean Fleet Electrification program was launched in 2015, with a quarter million operating hours logged, and we’re only at the starting line for Australia.

“Our message to our industry colleagues is simple – we have a diesel-free production support fleet option for you, right now. We can’t wait to welcome visitors to our booth to see the BEV shotcrete sprayer in person and speak with our team of technical experts, which will include product management and engineering colleagues from Canada.”

Patrick Marshall, MacLean’s Brisbane-based Vice President of Technology, added: “The UGOPS showcase is just the kick-off to a multi-stage introduction of MacLean EV Series technology to Australia across 2023. The minute the show closes on March 29th, the MacLean Australia team will be turning their attention to shipping the BEV SS5 unit to Barminco at Sunrise Dam, where it will be trialled by the contractor throughout the summer. We are committed to seeing this real-world trial succeed and then build on that success to more broadly introduce MacLean fleet electrification to the Australian industry.”

MacLean Engineering to showcase VR tech at CIM show

Automation, Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining services, Mining software, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , ,

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.”