At an accelerating rate, Mexican mines are taking advantage of advanced simulation technology along with skilled people and proven process, from Immersive Technologies, to optimize their equipment operator workforce.

Mine sites are measuring significant improvements in key metrics as many new sites invest in operator training simulators and associated services. Recent examples include:

• Pan American Silver has expanded their simulator based training program to include underground drills and LHD´s. This follows the adoption six months earlier of a simulator based truck operator training solution which is managed and operated on site by Immersive Technologies.
• NEMISA, Mexico’s largest underground mine, has invested in simulators for their new training school.
• A leading silver and gold producer has expanded simulation training capacity following achieving a 10% fuel savings using Immersive Technologies simulation based training solutions.
• La Cantera Desarrollos Mineros, one of Mexico´s leading underground contractors, has invested in a simulator based LHD training solution that will be supplied, managed and operated on site by Immersive Technologies.

“Honing operator skill and safety is increasingly more important in Mexico, and mine management is looking to technology and managed solutions to get their sites running more safely and profitably. Our combination of people, process and simulator technology is delivering proven results in the Mexican region, and more and more mines are seeing the value and return on investment making Immersive Technologies the clear choice for a training partner.”

Operator Training Results at Pan American Silver

At Pan American Silver’s underground La Colorada site in Zacatecas an embedded Immersive Technologies Trainer is in place to support and manage the IM360 simulator based training solution. In less than six months the site has seen impactful improvements including:

• 6.5% reduction of total TH315 underground truck failures
• 8.7% reduction of electrical failures of TH315 fleet
• 12% reduction of in hydraulic system failures in TH315 fleet

“Many of our Mexico customers are choosing a managed service where Immersive is not only providing the Technology and Process but also the People to execute the training. This means the mine does not need to spend resources and time developing their own content from scratch but instead benefit from a turnkey solution that produces quantifiable return on investment from the very get go.”

Leading Silver and Gold Producer Reports Fuel Savings

An open-pit gold mine, located in the Sonora desert, needed an efficient model to help reduce fuel consumption. With many factors impacting site consumption they needed a best practice model to address variables.

Using the fuel consumption data for each operator, twenty operators were selected and divided in two groups. The first group was trained in the simulator and monitored in the mine site. The second group did not receive training and were only monitored. In this project both groups worked in the same route, with the same loading implement over a three month period.

After the first month, the group that received training improved, reducing fuel consumption by 9.56% over the group that did not receive training. No loss of productivity was reported in achieving this saving.

“The combination of people, process and simulator technology is delivering proven results in the Mexican region and more and more mines are seeing the value and return on investment making Immersive Technologies the clear choice for a training partner.”