| The Mimosa mine will soon use tele-remote controlled roadheaders for development. The company worked with Immersive Technologies to develop a simulated mining environment with a tele-remote roadheader. |
New mining practices are under way at an underground coal operation in Mexico after changes in geological conditions led to increased coal seam outbursts, putting miner’s lives in danger. To keep operators away from the risk of outburst, the site now operates using a teleremote system. The site has worked with Immersive Technologies to develop simulation-based training; the objective is to train miners to operate the equipment safely and improve productivity.
“Safety is our highest priority so going to a remote system was essential to protect our personnel. As part of this integration, we wanted operators to be skilled and keep damage to the machines at a minimum. We partnered with Immersive Technologies to deliver the safest and most productive solution,” said Armando Diaz Cardenas, general mine manger-mine VII, Mimosa.
Training will be delivered using a simulator specifically designed for underground operations. With its 360° high definition screen and RealMove technology, operators can freely walk around the mine and equipment, allowing for realistic training for Red Zone avoidance, proximity sensor training, prestart and walk around.
“In this situation; the operators are no longer sitting in a cab surrounded by controls, they have to have the freedom to move around their environment and operate from multiple positions,” said Richard Beesley, underground coal business unit manager for Immersive Technologies.
Mimosa is located in Coahuila, Mexico, and it mines about 4 million metric tons of coal annually.
