MacLean launches division for surface mining equipment

The MacLean GR8 EV Surface Grader will be the first product from the Canadian OEM’s Surface Mining Vehicle Division. (Illustration: MacLean Engineering)

MacLean Engineering has established a Surface Mining Vehicle Division that it said builds on its 50-year reputation as a fit-for-purpose underground mining equipment OEM and a decade of battery electric vehicle (EV) design and support in North America, Africa and Australia.

The inaugural model for the new division is the GR8 EV Surface Grader. The company said it plans to develop additional products to complement the GR8 and help the global surface mining sector accelerate its decarbonization timelines for ancillary equipment.

“Our message to the mining world is simple and powerful – we are here now to accelerate your fleet decarbonization requirements,” said Dan Stern, senior product manager at MacLean, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada. “Our aspirations are much broader and longer-term than just that one surface mining vehicle model, we have a variety of planned ancillary EVs to help you realize this to meet your core business objectives of safety, productivity, and cost controls. To mining companies around the globe – we want to hear about your decarbonization and operational optimization plans. We’re here to listen and provide solutions. As we like to say at MacLean, our history runs deep, and now our future is looking up.”

MacLean’s first project for the division, a collaboration with Fortescue, was announced at MINExpo 2024, in support of the mining company’s Real Zero 2030 decarbonization strategy for its iron ore operations in Western Australia.

“As a company we turned 50 in 2023 and in 2025 we are also celebrating our 10-year anniversary of our EV Series. Now we are making another decisive move towards providing EV for the surface mining sector around the globe,” said David Jacques, vice president of Surface Mining Vehicles, MacLean, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada. “With a decade of EV experience in the underground mining sector, 100-plus units sold and commissioned and 500,000-plus operating hours logged, we are well positioned to bring our expertise and learnings around EV equipment to surface mining operations.”