Company’s roots in the Malartic mining camp provide historical foundation for delivery of battery electric fleet to Odyssey Mine
(Don MacLean with sisters Jessie and Peggy, standing in front of original East Malartic Gold Mines headframe,1946)
[Collingwood, 8 December 2021] – One of Canada’s largest underground gold mining projects, Odyssey Mine, owned by the Canadian Malartic Partnership (Partnership), is under construction and a fleet of MacLean battery electric mining vehicles (BEVs) will be there supporting a safe, productive, and emissions-free work environment. The MacLean BEV fleet at Odyssey Mine will be used for ground support installation, explosives charging, materials transport, and construction and maintenance.
The Odyssey Mine, located near the Town of Malartic in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of northern Quebec, will extract ore from an ore body 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.
(Photo left: Don MacLean as a young boy playing in front of the East Malartic Gold Mines headframe, 1941)
(Photo right: Don MacLean and his father ‘Ducky’ MacLean in Malartic, 1940)
“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,” remarks Kevin MacLean. “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.”
“My years growing up in Malartic instilled a deep respect for mining and miners; it taught me the value of a hard day’s work and the importance of tight-knit, self-reliant northern community; plus it gave me the freedom to explore a natural environment almost without bounds, something that built in me a lifelong love for fishing and hunting,” adds Don MacLean. “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.”
Notes Tony Caron, MacLean VP of Quebec, Nunavut, and Latin America, “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.”
(‘Ducky’ MacLean, East Malartic Gold Mines Manager, with his son Don in Malartic, 1938)
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For more information:
Stuart Lister
VP Marketing & Communications
MacLean Engineering
Collingwood ON
slister@macleanengineering.com
705.241.3247 (c)
MacLean designs, manufactures, and supports engineered solutions across the mining, municipal, and waste management sectors. The company’s mining division builds a comprehensive line of mobile equipment in the ground support, ore flow, and utility vehicle product categories. Founded in 1973, MacLean remains based in the southern Georgian Bay region of Ontario with service and support branches across Canada as well as a global network of manufacturing facilities and branches in the United States, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, and Australia. www.macleanengineering.com
