With state of the art technology and projects using innovative applications, the aim is to develop this centre, based in Belo Horizonte, into a global research and development centre for the mineral-metallurgical sector.
The virtual reality applications that Coffey will be developing has great potential to reduce costs, time and risks during all phases of projects in the mineral-metallurgical sector. The concept of the virtual reality facility is to provide immersive visualisation in a cinema-style setting that enables more than just technical stakeholders to engage in the understanding of a project. This capability will also include technical abilities around creating models and the ability to explore new ways to apply the technology to improve the outputs and investment in the mining industry.
The centre will contribute to training and retaining qualified labour in this region of Brazil, and will facilitate an exchange of ideas between companies, national and international institutions and include the participation of university researchers and students in the projects.
Coffey is the first company from the mining sector to receive funding under the state government-funded SIMI program. SIMI is an initiative from the Secretariat for Science, Technology and Higher Education for Minas Gerais that integrates and coordinates the promotion of innovation in the state. The total value of the project is AUD$2.3million, with the grant accounting for half of this.
Coffey’s Brazil-based operations have been developing database and visualisation solutions for the mining industry for over a decade, using their exploration and geology expertise to design and construct the GeoEXPLO suite of software products. Recent development work has expanded this range of solutions to include a hosted web-enabled database solution that caters for geology, geotechnics and environmental requirements. A recent roadshow to Australia also showcased geospacial technologies to combine geoscience consulting, GIS technology and visualisation technology (including digital maps and web portals) to provide visually compelling solutions to facilitate training, communication, risk assessment and predictive analysis.
According to Craig McCloskey, general manager South America for Coffey, “This partnership represents an expansion of Coffey Mining’s operations capabilities in Brazil, and our commitment to the country. We are confident the geotechnologies and advanced visualisation centre, and associated technologies we are developing, will make this a global R&D centre for the mineral-metallurgical sector.”
Rob Slater, global service line leader for Coffey Mining commented, “The development of this centre builds on Coffey Mining’s 50 years of experience in supplying specialist services to the international mining industry and represents an exciting opportunity for both Coffey and the mineral-metallurgical sector.”
Media contacts
Prue Bowley, External Communications Manager, Coffey
T +61 8 8418 1566; F +61 8 8224 0453; E: prue_bowley@coffey.com
