Millions of rands are spent every year on products and services designed to keep miners safe; however, many people do not know that some of the most important and advanced technological mining safety solutions originate from computer gaming, notes Standard Bank small enterprise head Ethel Nyembe.

She states that innovation and technology save lives at underground mines and ensure that miners return safely to the surface, adding that minimising risks also means maintaining production and reducing lost-time incidents.

“Given [the constraints] mining companies are operating under, it is to their credit that they have adopted all the technology they can to protect their people. Achieving this has meant investing in computer-generated, advanced visualisation techniques and tools that have crossed over from the world of video gaming.”

Nyembe says an episode of the Standard Bank-supported television show The Growth Engines highlighted how major mining company Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) works with specialised small business and technology investment and management firm Cyest Corporation to reduce risks and drive bottom line performance through three- dimensional (3D) visualisation technology.

The Growth Engines show profiles big and small businesses whose dynamic supplier-customer relationships are leading the economy through innovation and excellence.

Overcoming the Situation
Various factors, such as the plati- num price that has dropped by about 35% in the last five years and reduced global demand, have placed a strain on the sustainability of platinum mining, says Amplats technology and innovation head Jeannette McGill.

She says, with shallow resources being depleted, Amplats is forced to mine deeper, noting that there are significant challenges associated with this, including being able to supply its mines with ventilation and support through a variety of applications.

She says the process of implementing 3D visualisation technology at the company’s mines is about mining safer and meeting Anglo American’s corporate objective of causing zero harm to workers.

“We look at how we can increase our global competitiveness in terms of being able to [run] sustainable operations and create maximum value for our shareholders. This requires a certain level of innovation and the application of technology both in underground and openpit environments.”

She says achieving this involves driving continuous technological changes, and that keeping pace with the demand for change led to the partnership with Cyest Corporation, which brought different technologies, including advanced visualisation technology, to Amplats.

The technology is currently being used in the training arena, where virtual reality software is used to demonstrate the realities of working underground and the ways in which the hostile environment can be made as safe as possible for all workers, says McGill.

She adds that visualisations are used to simulate scenarios that can produce life-saving improvements in the mining industry, and that the relevance of gaming technology to business technologies is acknowledged by Amplats – particularly when it comes to promoting safety underground.

“There is so much that technology can do in empowering people and making them more effective at their jobs. Whether it is advanced visualisation or beneficiating data to make better decisions, we are only touching the tip of the iceberg. Innovation and technology are the bridge to taking companies forward,” says Cyest Corporation director Andreas Cambitsis.

He adds that it is important to keep an eye on innovation and the bottom line and that a company must be clear on how the innovation is going to benefit profitability. It is also something that should be consid- ered as a long-term objective.