The University of Santo Tomas (UST)'s Iquique campus in northern Chile has announced it will integrate a training simulator into its program to assist students in becoming skillful haul truck operators in the region, according to a report by Mining Global.

The university will utilize a fourth-generation CYBERMINE unit from ThoroughTec Simulations, a training simulator provider for surface and underground mining. The simulator will mimic a Komatsu haul truck, providing a simulated cap, a highly realistic replica of the actual haul truc, along with functional simulated instruments and controls, according to the report.

The CYBERMINE simulator is mounted on a motion platform giving six degrees of freedom and is surrounded by a panoramic, high-resolution projection system that displays a 3D virtual surface mine world. Control of all aspects of training and evaluation is exercised in ral time from an instructor station and is displayed on two high-definition widescreen displays, according to the report.

Along with UST studends utilizing the simulator, it will also be used to train companies. The university has agreed to assist some of the mining companies in the region in training programs aimed at improving the skill levels of their haul truck operators, according to the report.