MacLean Focuses On Electric Vehicles And Decarbonisation

MacLean Engineering, a Canadian-based mining vehicle manufacturer with deep roots in the African mining industry, has been designing, manufacturing, and supporting underground mining vehicles around the globe for over 50 years. In Africa, the company established its first-ever international branch in the late 1990s, in Parys, South Africa.

The enterprise currently supports 100+ MacLean mining vehicles operating in SA, the DRC, Mali, Tanzania, and Namibia. The company’s in-country field support across Africa was significantly improved earlier this year, with the announcement of a dealer partnership with Kanu Equipment. This greatly improves MacLean site support capabilities in the Central, East and West African countries.

MacLean has been pursuing a ‘Made in Africa, for Africa’ approach in recent years, which is seeing the branch in Parys now completing full assembly of ground support and utility mining vehicles destined for the African industry. To this end, MacLean recently completed its first in-country assembly of a 975 Scissor Bolter, and the unit was subsequently successfully commissioned at a customer site in SA.

In underground mining, the company is known around the world for its namesake scissor bolter, and its ore flow product suite that has been providing safe and productive drawpoint blockage mobile equipment specialty solutions for decades in Africa. It also offers its full spectrum utility vehicle fleet. The complete MacLean product line is now also available with the option of battery electric drive.

Having pursued a fleet electrification programme for almost a decade, MacLean has established a global leadership position in the provision of diesel-free mining vehicles for the mining world, with over 100 battery electric mining vehicles sold and
500 000+ operating hours logged.

At the recent global industry gathering at MINExpo 2024, MacLean CEO Kevin MacLean announced a partnership with the Australian-based iron ore producer Fortescue, for the provision of a fleet of 30 battery-powered surface mining motor graders.

This partnership signals a major step towards mining industry decarbonisation. During the same announcement at MINExpo 2024, MacLean also pledged to achieve real zero emissions by 2040. This approach will build on its longstanding leadership in battery electric vehicle technology for mining, in keeping with the urgency and strategic importance of helping to more rapidly decarbonise both underground and open-pit operations around the mining globe.