African Underground Mining Services (AUMS), a Barminco and Ausdrill 50:50 joint venture contract mining firm, has made further investment in simulators from Immersive Technologies after seeing successful results from the installation of previous training units.

The company has placed additional orders to increase its training capacity, including Professional Services to support the technology integration, Immersive said.

It comes after AUMS saw results from its initial deployment of two IM360 Simulator Platforms with Conversion Kits for Sandvik long hole drills, jumbo drills, LHDs and trucks, along with Conversion Kits for Cat trucks and LHDs.

Scott Miller, AUMS Group Environmental Health, Safety & Transportation Manager, said: “We are committed to investing into quality training that can be applied across new projects. We use the local workforce and the ability to train them using simulators has proven to be a vital part of on-boarding and continual improvement.”

AUMS provides a structured training programme using simulator technology to optimise the training process for inexperienced heavy equipment operators, according to Immersive.

“This structured approach extends to their Train the Trainer programme where, in mutual collaboration with Immersive Technologies, an annual TrainerAdvantage™ training session was conducted over a two-week period at the Immersive Technologies head office in Perth,” the company said.

Simon Vellianitis, Immersive Technologies, Regional Manager, said: “Training is important to AUMS and they have shown how that dedication can equate to dollars. We are proud to see the results they have achieved and honoured with their continued investment.”

Earlier this year, Ausdrill acquired Barminco in a deal that valued Barminco’s equity at A$271.5 million