MinerSim
Miner Sim: A Froth Flotation Education Experience
CS 426 Senior Project in Computer Science
Spring 2023, at UNR, CSE Department
Team 11 - Nathan Bertram, Dustin Hurtz, Charlotte Moreland, Levi Scully
Instructors - Dr. David Feil-Seifer and Devrin Lee
Advisors - Dr. Sergiu Dascalu and Dr. Pengbo Chu
Overview Video
Project Description
MinerSim will be the prototype for an immersive virtual reality educational experience aimed to teach the scientific principles behind the froth flotation mineral separation process to mining engineering students in colleges and mining professionals in industry and, bring interest to mining engineering to highschool students around the Reno region.
Separation of minerals by selective adhesion has been used almost as long as humans have pulled ore from the ground, with archaeological evidence showing the technique used in the Laurion silver mines in Greece. The separation process exploits the natural and inducible properties of mineral interaction with water, that is whether the mineral is hydrophilic or hydrophobic to separate hundreds of tons of minerals per day.
MinerSim will include a virtual reality environment where users can look at the minerals, chemical and physical interactions of the frothing tank, bring up molecule representations of chemicals and various minerals will allow users to witness how the frothing process is able to separate minerals. With our cooperation between departments we will be able to refine this project to be a dynamic learning experience and a powerful tool for teaching complex topics. Its’ main functionalities will be an active simulation of a froth flotation tank with the ability to highlight the interactions between chemicals and minerals with users able to explore the tank environment. User interactions and tracking data will be saved to a database for instructors to examine and tune lessons for individual students.
MinerSim will be built for the meta quest pro, an all in one VR headset using the Unity Game Engine. Packages will include meta quest integration, Ultimate XR, SQL, and various assets from the Unity Asset store. MinerSim should be fairly reliable, since portability is a large concern, we are focusing on keeping a smooth performance on the headset. However the largest consequence of MinerSim crashing is that someone may have to restart their session. Ideally it will be reliable enough to take much of the instructor’s time troubleshooting. Security is mostly a concern when focused on the user data collection and database access. If we have them access a web server for the information then we will need to implement a secure login feature. If canvas integration is possible then we may be able to utilize the built in security of canvas.
Project Poster
Project Related Resources
B. A. Wills and J. A. Finch, “Chapter 12,” in Wills’ Mineral Processing Technology: An introduction to the practical aspects of ore treatment and mineral recovery, Amsterdam: Elsevier/BH, 2016, pp. 265–380.
Description: This chapter of the textbook has a lot of useful information about froth flotation. The book goes into the intricate details of how froth flotation works and describes the methods in which different types of machines use mechanisms for froth flotation. This reference was especially useful for identifying key terms such as those listed in the glossary and finding clear and concise definitions for those keywords.
B. A. Wills and J. A. Finch, “Chapter 12,” in Wills’ Mineral Processing Technology: An introduction to the practical aspects of ore treatment and mineral recovery, Amsterdam: Elsevier/BH, 2016, pp. 265–380.
Description: This chapter of the textbook has a lot of useful information about froth flotation. The book goes into the intricate details of how froth flotation works and describes the methods in which different types of machines use mechanisms for froth flotation. This reference was especially useful for identifying key terms such as those listed in the glossary and finding clear and concise definitions for those keywords.
C. Manetta and R. A. Blade, “Glossary of virtual reality terminology,” International Journal of Virtual Reality, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 35–39, 1995.
Description: This journal article lays out a glossary of terms related to virtual reality. It describes only the significant terms that might be referenced by someone creating their own virtual reality game or wanting to understand how one is made. This article has most of the important terms that might be needed in order to understand virtual reality and game design.
“Froth flotation process - detailed explanation with diagrams and videos,” BYJUS, 05-May-2022. [Online]. Available: https://byjus.com/jee/froth-flotation-process/. [Accessed: 02-Nov-2022].
Description: This website was very useful in that it described the process of froth flotation in language that was simple and easy to understand. Any metallurgy jargon used on this webpage was explained and defined in understandable terms. The diagrams provided on this webpage also helped identify the key components of the froth flotation cell or system.
Luttrell Gerald H, & Young Courtney A. (2012). From 10 Cubic Feet to 500 Cubic Meters - Observations on 100 Years of Flotation Technology. In Separation Technologies for Minerals, Coal and Earth Resources (pp. 539 – 545). Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME).
Description: Chapter in a text book describing the history of mining separation techniques throughout history and how the earlier techniques led to what we know today as froth flotation. The book goes into intricate detail over several separation systems and how these same principles have gone back into ancient human history.
P. A. de S. Bergamo, C. Izart, E. S. Streng, J. Rosenkranz, and Y. Ghorbani, “Use of Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model in simulation-based trainings for the mining industry - a case study for froth flotation,” Minerals Engineering, vol. 188, p. 107825, 2022.
Description: This journal article discusses the use of simulations to train or teach those interested or involved in mining. There are also simulation diagrams and a layout for how mining students may be tested on froth flotation before and after using the simulation. A training plan and a reaction evaluation are laid out in detail.
T. Borusso, “Hydrophobic vs hydrophylic,” Serina Trading, 25-Apr-2022. [Online]. Available: https://kaolin.co.za/articles/hydrophobic-vs-hydrophylic.html. [Accessed: 02-Nov-2022].
Description: The concept of hydrophobic and hydrophilic is very important in the froth flotation process. This article described the difference of hydrophobic and hydrophilic minerals in a way that is easy for those not involved in the process to understand. The webpage also discussed the ways in which hydrophilic and hydrophobic minerals can be used for other processes.