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Environment & Communities Mining for EduMine Knowledge for Mining significant investment in three Immersive Technologies AE Simulators, as well as dump truck, excavator and dozer Conversion Kits, has been a factor in lifting the proportion of indigenous apprentices in Grasberg’s truck operator workforce to about 30%, the technology is also favourably impacting mine safety, unscheduled machine downtime levels, and equipment productivity, as was originally hoped. “We had three clear measurable[s] in mind when we bought the simulators,” he says. “One was a reduction in metal-to-metal contact and accidents involving machines; second was higher truck and shovel productivity and third was truck availability. Ray adds that they have had a 20% improvement in truck operating efficiency and some percentage increase in availabilities and that they have seen a reduction in metal-to-metal accidents as well. For the apprentices, simulators remain a core part of training. In some areas, such as instruction on responses to brake, engine and transmission problems, fire and other emergencies, and dealing with adverse weather, the simulators are essential training tools. “There are things you just can’t do with real equipment or in an actual operating environment,” says Ray. “In areas such as the engine and transmission abuse, gear hunting – key causes of unscheduled maintenance – and even reducing tyre wear, the simulators offer a means of providing immediate constructive feedback and coaching for the apprentices.” 52 MINING.com September 2008 Register Today! for October Short Courses Professional Development Upcoming Courses Filling fast! Open-Pit Slope Design 2 - 3 October 2008 | Prof. Garston Blackwell Aboriginal Awareness Training 2 - 3 October 2008 | Robert Laboucane Practical Geostatistics 8 - 10 October 2008 | Dr. Isobel Clark Mine Safety: Risk, Reason & Regret 15 - 17 October 2008 | Mr. Douglas Sweeney Metal Mining Discharges - Impacts and Control 22 - 24 October 2008 | Dr. Frances Salomon www.EduMine.com/PD2008/ EduMine - Division of Professional Development at InfoMine Inc. 2008 PTFi has benefited from a significant improvement in the utilization of its expanded Immersive Technologies AE Simulator fleet over the past 12 months. Development specialist Rob Paul, who was brought in to help increase simulator use and devise new strategies to enhance its effectiveness, says better maintenance and scheduling practices have lifted average simulator utilization threefold since late 2005. “We’ve kept availability [of the simulators] pretty much at 95-98%,” he says. “That has come about largely through improvement in the [department’s] troubleshooting skills and instruction on correct use of the simulators. “The improvement, and the increase in utilization, has in turn had an effect on the results achieved with the simulators.” A former training and assessment manager with BHP Billiton and Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines, Paul says higher simulator utilization is allowing PTFi to get a more accurate reading on the return on its investment in the technology. “Certainly, simulator use in the lowlands has helped improve the quality of trainees transferred to the mine site, and reduced the failure rate of new apprentices,” he says. “The simulator allows us to test apprentices, to ensure they can demonstrate a certain skill level before they are passed to go to the mine. “Anecdotally, another major advantage that I’ve seen is that many of our apprentices are now starting to appear among the top performers, so it’s certainly accelerated their development. “I think there is a lot of potential there for us to improve the skill levels of existing employees too.” PTFi business support manager Brendan Vaughan says that experienced truck drivers have responded well to “a more regimented delivery of training material provided by simulation”. He says that simulators have proven to be effective in modifying and improving operator behaviour. “Even experienced operators benefit from exposure to the simulator where we have an environment in which we can reinforce correct and safe work procedures,” he says. Vaughan says Grasberg is enjoying the highest haul truck availability levels for its Caterpillar truck fleet recorded since the start of a new maintenance and repair contract with a supplier agent in 2003. “What role the simulators played in this is still under investigation,” he says. “[But] in order to make an impact it was recognized that we needed to maximize the utilization of simulators, which is one area where we’ve made strong progress. Our target is 14,000 simulator hours per year.” Controlled by US-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc, PTFi is one of the world’s biggest copper producers, with a 2006 output of 1.24 billion pounds of the metal from the Grasberg open pit and adjacent underground mining complex. The operations also produced 1.9 million ounces of gold and more than 3Moz of silver last year. With reserves currently estimated at 36.5 billion lbs of copper, 39.8Moz of gold and 115Moz of silver, the fabulously rich Grasberg complex is expected to be among the world’s
Environment & Communities Virtual Reality tools allow companies to assess potential truck drivers and provide rudimentary operator training. important producers of copper, gold and silver for at least the next 35 years. In the more than 15 years since it succeeded Ertsberg as PTFi’s production centre, the Grasberg open pit mine has become one of the global mining industry’s mega-pits. 53 MINING.com September 2008 Links and Resources Immersive Technologies 66 Hasler Road Osborne Park, Perth, 6017 Tel. +61 8 9347 9000 Fax.+61 8 9347 9090 enquiries@immersiveTechnologies.com www.ImmersiveTechnologies.com BHP Billiton Grasberg Mine Labour Market Integration Of Ethnic Minorities: Some Analytical And Policy Lessons From The UK Mining Simulation Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Ok Tedi PT Freeport Indonesia PTFi Apprenticeship Program Immersive Technologies Advanced Equipment (AE) Simulator Click here for full list of links: http://go.mining.com/sept08-a14 Trying to manage your environmental data with ancient tools? • Over 200 consultants and 300 labs manage data from over 150,000 facilities using EQuIS • Advanced ArcGIS Integration • Sample Planning Module with Completeness Checker • World’s Premier Lab Data Checking System • Build – Serve – Push Reports and Graphics over the web • World-class Help Desk info@earthsoft.com (978) 369-2201 www.earthsoft.com
Page 1: The Mining World Goes to Las Vegas!
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Page 6 and 7: MINExpo MINExpo: September 23 - 25,
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Page 22 and 23: Country Mark Bristow, CEO of Randgo
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