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PRODUCT News
May 2016
MODERN MINING
59
Employees of Anglo American’s Mogala
kwena platinum mine in Limpopo
Province, as well as members of the sur-
rounding community, are reaping the
benefits of the mine’s high-fidelity, simula-
tor-training programme.
The mine has recently purchased
another CYBERMINE Full Mission Simulator
(FMS) from Durban-based ThoroughTec
Simulation, this time for the training of
Caterpillar D10T dozer operators. This sim-
ulator complements the mine’s existing
system for the training of Taiyuan Heavy
Industries WK55 rope shovel operators,
which was the first of its kind in the world.
“The CYBERMINE simulators provide us
with an environment which is as close to
the real thing as possible. It allows for a lot
of practice, and mistakes to be made in a
safe environment at zero risk,” says Richard
White, HRD Coordinator QA & Learning
Delivery, at Mogalakwena.
The mining of platinum is heavily
mechanised and the costly equipment
used can be dangerous. By the time the
learner operators graduate from the simu-
lator, they are already comfortable with the
equipment’s controls and what they can
expect in the mining area.
“After evaluating the dozer simulator
for a period of time and having proven
its utility and benefit to training, the mine
decided to purchase it outright,” says
Adam Smallman, Regional Vice President
for EMEA at ThoroughTec.
The simulator is not just pro-
viding safety benefits. “There
are also productivity upsides,”
says White. “We’ve found that
now, after simulator training, a
lot more ripping gets done by
the dozer operators.”The simula-
tor’s 360-degree field of view and
ripping capabilities provide a life-
like situation for operators to practise not
only dozing, but ripping as well.
This particular simulator is also being
used in a community development project
Mogalakwena acquires CYBERMINE Full Mission Simulator
CYBERMINE 4
SurfaceBase Unit.
known as Dozing to Success. “The dozer
is our entry level equipment for up and
coming operators; therefore the D10T sim
will be our primary tool in teaching com-
munity members who have no mining
experience whatsoever about the mining
environment in a safe, realistic manner,”
says Stephan Voges, HRD Trainer. “It’s
broadening the skills base in the area.”
ThoroughTec Simulation, tel (+27 31) 569-4033