SMERE Open Cut Mining

The Open Cut Mining Experience has been developed for the students of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering (MERE) subjects at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia. The app provides an overview of the mining process of an operating Hunter Valley Coal Mine from start to finish. A cross-section schematic diagram is presented as an interactive menu to show the viewer where each of the mining stages fit in context and how they relate to the underlying geology. The viewer can select to visit a variety of sites corresponding to the mining stages. A series of 360-degree photos and videos are used to take the viewer "onto the ground" at each location where they can look around and observe the conditions with a voice-over that explains what they are looking at.