jULY/AUGUST 2018 BCBusiness 69 ISTOCK
H
aving spent a large part of
my childhood strapping into
fake car seats in the games
arcade section of the Queen of
Tsawwassen ferry, I experience a ashback of
sorts when asked to man the controls of a rep-
lica shovel. But it quickly becomes apparent
that Teck Resources' simulator is a bit di•er-
ent than choosing which Ferrari will help me
best my brothers in Need for Speed.
On the oor of the BCTech Summit this
past May, none of the pedals or levers work,
but what's happening in front of me is very
real. A heads-up display is being updated
with real-time stats, relaying information
about how much ore a shovel operator at
Teck's Highland Valley Copper mine near
Logan Lake is bringing in with every scoop.
The screen also tells the operator whether to
move to a di•erent location and how much to
pick up next time to †ll the load.
It's one of several innovations that
WITh help from neW TeChnologIes,
TWo mInIng CompAnIes In The Top 100
Are ChAngIng The WAY TheIr IndusTrY
does busIness
b y N A T H A N C A D D E L L
Underground
Movement
M I N I N G
