VR Smelting Plant

Interactive virtual experience of one of the most important processes in mercury mining: turning ore into liquid metal.

Start	January 2021
Client	Idrija Mercury Heritage Management Centre

Use Case

Inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List in 2012, Idrija’s rich unique industrial and technical heritage is the result of 500 years of mining history. But how to present the mercury smelting process in an interactive way that will engage modern audiences?

The VR journey takes you through five stations where you learn about key steps in the smelting process: the burning of ore to extract mercury vapour; cooling the vapour to create a liquid; purifying the liquid mercury; and finally, transferring the purified mercury into iron flasks, ready to be transported globally.