Credit: Eurasian Resources Group
On Tuesday 8 April 2025, Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), a diversified natural resources group headquartered in Luxembourg, reported the launch of a new digital tool that provides 3D visualisations of workplace equipment.
As announced by ERG, it is introducing the technology at its Kazakhstan-based Sokolov-Sarbai Mining Production Association (SSGPO) JSC, one of the largest iron ore producers in Eurasia. The technology is intended to facilitate both training and repairs and works through the utilisation of QR codes which, when scanned with a smartphone camera, display the related object in 3D on the smartphone’s screen.
Virtual reality (VR) training courses are widely used in many colleges and universities, including ERG’s own Corporate University, and ERG’s specialists took this practice forward by embedding 3D images of equipment in QR codes. This allows users to see a 3D image of the equipment in question, quickly examine its structure, locate any malfunctions and find ways to fix it efficiently. Users can also use the images as visual materials during discussions related to repairs. According to ERG, there are currently 75 items that utilise this technology at its Kazakhstan site.
ERG explained that the use of VR “opens up new opportunities for improving process efficiency and productivity and is a key to ensuring [the] highest possible level of safety”.
Talent Development Manager at ERG, Mikhail Shestakov, said: “For instance, at a pre-shift meeting, someone is being assigned the task of replacing the cellular shaft of a suction filter. What does it look like? Where is it? How to unscrew it? One can answer these questions correctly by scanning the QR code and looking at 3D images on their phone.”
SM
