Most mining training is technical. Most incidents are not.

The moments that decide a shift are a crew member who is too tired to say so, a pre-start where nobody raises the thing everyone can see, and the decision to stop work when stopping work is unpopular. Those are conversations, and they are rehearsable.

Key takeaway

Mining practice should make room for a crew member to raise a concern and a supervisor to respond. PTR would build those exchanges around the site's own procedures and working conditions.

A young crew member sits withdrawn over a mug in a simulated crib room on night shift; an older supervisor wearing the headset sits down opposite him, checking in.

Start with the crew and the conversation

For mining and resources, PTR would build practice around the pre-start, the handover and the decision to stop work. The Metro Trains workplace program offers adjacent experience in facilitated inclusion training. A mining build would start with the crew, site procedures and supervisor review, with a debrief tied to the decisions being practised.

"This is especially beneficial in remote or rural areas where access to high-speed internet may be limited. With just a VR headset and power, users can engage in training that is as comprehensive and immersive as any online program."

Simon Lowe, PTR's CEO. Simon Lowe
CEO, People Tech Revolution, on VR training that runs offline. The Cusp of a Revolution, Global Best Practice Group, October 2024

Field networks and utilities

The same crew, a longer drive between jobs

The same conversations a mine site runs, with far more road between them.

A supervisor wearing a headset faces one crew member under a depot awning, the rest of the crew in hi-vis gathered behind them. — A pre-start rehearsed at the depot.

From the depot gate to the remote job

First light, a depot awning, and a supervisor facing one of the crew. Gas, water and power networks run the same conversations as a mine site, spread across a state: the pre-start, the stop-work call, and the thing a leader has to say out loud.

PTR builds those, and the drive between them. The driving environment reintroduced at a controlled pace is delivered work for a transport client, and the same scenarios carry into a field crew's ute.

What practice looks like in mining and resources

The pre-start, the night shift, the camp, and the call to stop.

A woman in her thirties runs a pre-start toolbox talk wearing the headset, breath visible in the cold dawn light; two crew in hi-vis stand listening, one with arms folded. — A pre-start toolbox talk in cold light.

A woman in a high-visibility shirt and hard hat wears the headset near the pit edge behind a barrier, a colleague beside her, haul road lights coming on at dusk. — Stopping work when stopping work is unpopular.

A man stands at the open driver's door of a white ute, keys in hand; a supervisor wearing the headset stands at the front corner, rehearsing a fatigue check conversation. — A supervisor rehearses fatigue checks beside the ute.

An operator wearing the headset arrives for night shift as another finishing up sits with his hard hat on the table, in a crib room at shift change before midnight. — A hard hat rests on the crib table.

A woman in her forties stands quiet and still outside her door wearing the headset, in a FIFO camp walkway at dawn, rows of dongas under a pale pink sky. — A worker stands outside her door at camp.

A miner wearing the headset sits on a bench catching his breath in an underground refuge chamber, a colleague opposite, both calm, an ordinary drill rather than an emergency. — The drill, and the breath after it.

A driller wearing the headset stands at an exploration rig at dawn; a young offsider stands nearby, hands on her hips, looking up at the mast on the cleared pad. — First light on the pad, before anything turns.

Inside the simulation: a first-person walk through a processing plant, a hazard highlighted ahead by a soft blue outline glow, hard midday sun through the pipework and steel grating. — A hazard is outlined during a processing-plant walk.

Inside the simulation: a supervisor in hi-vis stands beside a stopped conveyor belt, mid-explanation, a blue outline glow marking a guard ahead, dust and afternoon light through the plant cladding. — The stopped belt, and the guard nobody mentioned.

Inside the simulation: a person wearing a mixed-reality headset stands facing the viewer beside dark glowing consoles, a window onto floodlit plant structures at night. — A headset wearer faces consoles during a handover.

Inside the simulation: a trainer talks through the window of a haul truck cab, seen from the operator's seat, a terraced pit and orange sky at dusk beyond the windscreen. — A trainer talks through the haul truck window.

Inside the simulation: an electrician stands beside an isolator, one hand raised in a clear stop gesture, a blue glow marking the handle in a floodlit substation yard at night. — A raised hand that means stop.

Questions a site asks before it commits a crew

The questions that come up early, answered in the words they get asked in.

Do we need headsets on site?

No. The same conversation runs typed at the pre-start, or spoken out loud where it will actually be said, on gear the site already carries. The headset is the deepest version of the practice, not the ticket in.

When does a crew do this, mid-shift?

Underground, where the shift already is. Crouched at the face, or out loud mid-drive between jobs. One exchange is short enough to fit the gap that is already there.

We are a utility, not a mine. Does any of this reach us?

It is the same crew with a longer drive between jobs. Gas, water and power field networks run the same pre-start, the same stop-work call and the same fatigue conversation, from the depot gate out to a job nobody else can see.

Our problem is the stop-work call nobody makes. Can practice change that?

That is the one worth rehearsing. Stopping the job is a sentence somebody has to say out loud to a supervisor, in front of the crew, and it is far easier the second time than the first. This is where the first time happens.

Is it only conversations?

No. The same build approach covers walking a plant before anyone sets foot in it, planning with the land alongside the people who hold it, and exploring a heritage site from survey data rather than by standing on it.

Underground, where the shift already is

A mining build would need to fit the site's training arrangements. The crew and safety team would decide where practice belongs and which devices are suitable.

A miner in a hi-vis vest crouches at the rock face of an underground drive, a stack of glowing message panels beside them. — A written run at the rock face.

Crouched at the face

Written practice could give a crew member space to prepare a handover. Device choice and the place to use it would follow the site's safety rules.

A miner stands small in the middle of an underground drive, dust hanging in the light, a ribbon of light curving through the tunnel. — Saying it out loud mid-drive.

Or out loud, mid-drive

Spoken practice would focus on a clear exchange between crew and supervisor, with the conditions and review process agreed before the scenario is built.

More training moments in mining and resources

Drill pads, control desks, an outdoor switch cabinet and a planning screen.

A drill trainee alone at the operator's stand. A VR training scenario for mining and resources. — A drill trainee alone at the operator's stand.

A technician using a wheelchair works at controls. A VR training scenario for mining and resources. — A technician using a wheelchair works at controls.

A shutdown planner and maintenance supervisor review plans. A VR training scenario for mining and resources. — A shutdown planner and maintenance supervisor review plans.

A heritage liaison and planner view open ground. A VR training scenario for mining and resources. — A heritage liaison and planner view open ground.

Two technicians stand beside an outdoor switch cabinet. A VR training scenario for mining and resources. — Two technicians stand beside an outdoor switch cabinet.

A prosthetic-legged haul-truck operator stands beside a colleague. A VR training scenario for mining and resources. — A prosthetic-legged haul-truck operator stands beside a colleague.

Two fitters, one senior, stand beside machinery. A VR training scenario for mining and resources. — Two fitters, one senior, stand beside machinery.

Two camp residents sit in the common room. A VR training scenario for mining and resources. — Two camp residents sit in the common room.

A supervisor briefs an offsider beside the rig. A VR training scenario for mining and resources. — A supervisor briefs an offsider beside the rig.

A lead and operator watch the plant console. A VR training scenario for mining and resources. — A lead and operator watch the plant console.

A liaison officer sits with a local elder. A VR training scenario for mining and resources. — A liaison officer sits with a local elder.

A safety officer briefs two residents at muster. A VR training scenario for mining and resources. — A safety officer briefs two residents at muster.

A permits officer reviews a screen with colleagues. A VR training scenario for mining and resources. — A permits officer reviews a screen with colleagues.

Through the headset in mining and resources

An open-cut bench, a processing walkway, a pit edge, a maintenance yard.

A loader operator stands alone on the bench. A first person VR training scenario for mining and resources, seen through the headset. — A loader operator stands alone on the bench.

A plant inspector walks the processing walkway. A first person VR training scenario for mining and resources, seen through the headset. — A plant inspector walks the processing walkway.

A drill operator looks up at the mast. A first person VR training scenario for mining and resources, seen through the headset. — A drill operator looks up at the mast.

Two colleagues near the open pit edge. A first person VR training scenario for mining and resources, seen through the headset. — Two colleagues near the open pit edge.

Three colleagues across a maintenance yard. A first person VR training scenario for mining and resources, seen through the headset. — Three colleagues across a maintenance yard.

Three colleagues near a control room doorway. A first person VR training scenario for mining and resources, seen through the headset. — Three colleagues near a control room doorway.

Two colleagues stand apart in a control room. A first person VR training scenario for mining and resources, seen through the headset. — Two colleagues stand apart in a control room.

Two colleagues stand apart across the common area. A first person VR training scenario for mining and resources, seen through the headset. — Two colleagues stand apart across the common area.

Practice underground, and on the surface

A written or spoken practice partner could support a pre-start or handover rehearsal. The site team would decide how it fits into training.

A man stands in a rock tunnel beside a stack of glowing message panels. — Working out how to raise a concern.

Typed, at the pre-start

A written scenario would let someone try raising a hazard and consider the reply. The crew would help define what a useful response looks like.

A man stands in a rock tunnel, a ribbon of light curving through the drift as he speaks. — Saying it to a supervisor out loud.

Spoken, where it will be said

A spoken scenario would let someone rehearse an exchange with a supervisor. A debrief would connect the words used to the site's reporting and stop-work procedures.

AI practice partners

Working in mining or resources?

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Related PTR work

PTR's work with Google, Metro Trains and Etihad Airways offers examples of workplace conversation practice and facilitated debriefs. Mining scenarios would need their own co-design with crews and site leaders.

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