The business, which is being jettisoned by Canadian aviation simulation-training giant CAE, is one of only a handful of serious players in the mining sim-training space and also has the Datamine mining software unit attached.
Recently though it has been the simulator side of the business making headway in the market, with new deals announced with Suncor Energy and 3M Mining in North America.
Canadian oil sands miner Suncor signed on for a CAE Terra mining simulator and training solution for the Fort Hill project in Alberta’s Athabasca Basin.
The package is slated for delivery in 2015 and includes simulation software, hardware and instructor operator stations that will be used to train and educate heavy equipment operators in mining procedures and guidelines.
In Denver, Colorado, 3M Mining USA appointed CAE Mining as its “mine operator training partner”.
Under a master service agreement CAE Mining instructors will deliver operator training courses for 3M at US locations.
Training in the mining sector is good business for CAE Mining at present, although the overall market is subdued compared to recent years.
Its Terra training system is well developed and in use at a number of sites around the world.
Borrowing from the deep experience of the parent entity, CAE Mining continues to push the application of “blended learning” as a proven method of achieving operational productivity gains.
The business offers equipment simulators, eLearning, classroom and self-paced content, plus on-the-job tuition.
“It has been interesting that the greatest proportion of early adopters of new technologies in simulation and automation have come from emerging markets, particularly Central and South America,” a CAE spokesperson told Mining Journal earlier this year.
Hexagon has built a “mining vertical” through a series of acquisitions in the past few years.
Simulation training technology and some broadening of its mining software offering were among gaps identified in its expanded mining technology range at a big customer gathering in the US this year.
