ThoroughTec Simulation, one of the well established players in mining equipment simulation has had some very interesting new sales recently. Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia recently selected ThoroughTec’s latest generation CYBERMINE⁴ mining simulators (IM, April 2010, p71). Richard Storrie, the Technical Services Manager at Oyu Tolgoi, advocated the purchase of the simulators for the mine afterwitnessing the results attained by Aurora College and Rio Tinto’s Diavik mine in the Northern Territories, Canada.

“Oyu Tolgoi’s development workforce includes local employees and highly skilled expatriates entrusted with training and supervision. As mine development morphs into full-scale production however, more and more experienced local operators will be needed and Oyu Tolgoi is committed to having a minimum of 90% of its workforce employed from the local community.  To effectively train and up-skill these local operators for a mega mine like Oyu Tolgoi will require specialised training equipment and an exceptional training program,” said Storrie.

ThoroughTec Simulation stamped the completion of its global expansion with the introduction of its new 4th generation CYBERMINE simulator system at AIMEX in Australia and Extemin in Peru. This followed the recent establishment of the South American office in Santiago as well as the expansion of the Australasian office in Perth, the North American office in Toronto and the South African office in Durban which supports the EMEA region. This expansion was essential to meet demand and increase the support network across the globe following successful sales to the University of Alaska, Yukon Mine Training Association, Anglo American and Wesfarmers, amongst others (see October issue of International Mining).