Pit to Pixel Semester 2 has Officially Begun!
Step into our Drill Down Day at Christ Church Grammar School and Guilford Grammar School, and you will see an immediate shift in how Digital Technologies is delivered. Designed by the CoRE Learning Foundation in partnership with the WA Mining Club, the Pit to Pixel program kicked off its second semester in the city with an intensive, hands-on Drill Down Day. The initiative aims to bridge high school Digital Tech learning with the modern resources sector by turning raw, operational data into insightful decision-making.
To kick off the semester, students stepped into the role of site managers, collaborating with industry mentors to operate a dynamic, simulated mine bench. Managing haul routes and navigating surprise breakdowns under tight deadlines, students saw every move they made update live on operational dashboards. By watching their physical actions directly drive real-time data visualisations, students shifted from passive observers into active, confident decision-makers.
Challenging Mining Stigma
For decades, students have learned about the resources sector through textbook diagrams and outdated assumptions. Pit to Pixel was built to shatter the myth that working in the mining sector means only operating heavy machinery or working on a drill rig. Today’s resources industry is a high-tech ecosystem powered by digital intelligence, predictive analytics, and rapid problem-solving.
Mine Management Challenge
To launch the day, student teams jumped straight into running an active, simulated mining bench under intense time pressure. Working in business units, teams managed haul routes and reacted on the fly to simulated equipment breakdowns and transit bottlenecks. Every physical move was logged directly into a live tracking dashboard, giving students immediate feedback on how their operational choices impacted the entire site.
Working shoulder-to-shoulder with WA Mining Club mentors, students moved past theoretical ideas to see how geologists and engineers balance haulage constraints and grade consistency in real time. The day’s biggest lightbulb moment was when teams realised modern mining isn't about chasing an impossible 100% mineral extraction rate. Students discovered that strategically managing site constraints to achieve an optimal 92–95% recovery rate maintains consistent ore quality and keeps haul routes moving efficiently without overloading the ROM pad.
Next, students took the driver’s seat in interactive face-to-face Q&A sessions with engineers, safety personnel, and mine site operators. They asked the tough questions, exploring how executive leaders rely on real-time operational data to make million-dollar decisions.
These conversations gave students clear insight into technical sector specialisations, uncovering the critical distinction between exploration geology (locating new precious mineral deposits) and mine geology (extracting that ore safely and economically). Mentors also walked students through active site safety performance reports, explaining how hazards are categorised and demonstrating how vital safety metrics like Incident Frequency Rates (IFR) are visualised on executive dashboards to keep workers safe every single day.
To bring the entire day together, student teams synthesised their raw quantitative numbers from Activity 1 with the qualitative career insights gathered in Activity 2 to build physical paper dashboards. Working on paper wireframes, students manually mapped out the layout, grouping their simulation data, haulage flows, and site safety metrics into clear visual sections before touching a computer screen.
This tactile activity introduced students to the core principles of dashboard wireframing and data architecture logic used by professional business analysts. By organising raw metrics on paper first, students learned how to establish visual hierarchy and user interface (UI) design, ensuring complex operational data can be understood by executives at a single glance.
We can't wait to see what these students come up with this term!
From the Classroom to the Boardroom
What makes Pit to Pixel truly innovative isn't just a single high-energy simulation; it’s preparing students for tech-driven careers in the resources sector.
This isn't a pre-packaged, one-size-fits-all curriculum. At CoRE, we tailor every program to the unique needs of each school, teacher, and cohort to draw out their absolute best. Over the coming weeks, our high school students won't be writing standard essays or filling out worksheets. They will be mastering Microsoft Power BI, the exact, industry-standard software used by mining companies today.
By the end of the term, students will step into the boardroom to pitch their self-built interactive digital dashboards showing real-time operational efficiency, haulage bottleneck solutions, and site safety metrics directly to a panel of mining executives.
Unlocking Potential Through Educator Support
A program of this calibre only succeeds when teachers feel fully empowered to lead it. That is why participating teachers receive continuous, hands-on support from both the dedicated Pit to Pixel team and our experienced industry volunteers, bringing the industry context and experiences into the classroom. We also recognise that no two classrooms are identical, which is why Pit to Pixel is built with complete flexibility, customised directly to each school’s unique classroom and student cohort to deliver the most meaningful learning experience possible. As we see the tremendous impact taking shape, we are excited to expand this vision even further into 2027.
Redefining STEM Education
We are transforming perceptions of the resources sector by showing what young learners can achieve when expectations are raised. Swapping passive lectures for authentic mentorship and industry-standard tools empowers students to thrive.
We extend a huge thank you to our Semester 2 educators from Christ Church Grammar School, Guildford Grammar School, and Tom Price Senior High School, as well as our devoted WA Mining Club industry volunteers, for generously giving their time to guide these students.
A massive thank you to our dedicated educators and WA Mining Club volunteers for inspiring these young learners!
Enrollment is officially open for Semester 1, 2027. Sign up today to bring this complimentary, groundbreaking, industry-integrated initiative to your classroom and empower your students to become tomorrow’s workforce leaders. Attend our upcoming information session to learn more about the program and how you can get involved.
📅 Information Session: 3:15pm, October 29th 2026
Information Session Registration Link: https://pit-to-pixel.mykajabi.com/event-registration-semester-1-2027
If you have any questions, please contact our program lead, Peta Chirgwin at peta@corefoundation.com.au
This is a really helpful breakdown. I’ve been testing tools like Imgveo for visual content generation and the speed is pretty impressive.