Ericsson has worked with Newmont Corp. on private cellular since 2018
Newmont started with replacing its Wi-Fi with private LTE at its Tier 1 mines
Now it's started to move to private 5G
Although the majority of mines in the world are located in remote areas - likely without public 5G service - many are now getting connected with private 4G, and some are even getting automated with low-latency private 5G.
Global mining company Newmont Corp. has invested in private cellular for its mines working with telecom vendor Ericsson and mobile operator Telstra.
“Newmont’s journey to private cellular commenced circa 2018 and has since grown to feature deployments at a majority of their Tier 1 assets globally, including in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Suriname, Mexico and Ghana, with plans to add mines in Argentina and Canada,” Ericsson told Fierce.
The vendor told us that the initial program focused on deploying private 4G networks into Newmont’s mines to address the demands of new mining technologies and operational requirements that had been testing the limitations of Wi-Fi.
Regular Fierce Network readers will be aware that Wi-Fi requires a lot of access points to provide coverage outdoors and in mines, construction sites and factories. Also, Wi-Fi cannot provide the low-latency needed to enable industrial robots and sophisticated automation.
In the pit
“We had several dozen Wi-Fi trailers, and we always had people in the active pit, removing and realigning the trailers, checking the battery, or performing other operations. The cellular network alleviates those safety concerns by keeping the networking gear and the technicians out of the pit,” noted Chris Twaddle, director of process and control networks and operational cellular at Newmont, in a case study for Ericsson.
In August 2024, Newmont and Ericsson announced the successful outcome of a series of 5G trials underground at their Cadia mine in New South Wales, Australia. “On the strength of the results, Newmont announced their intent to expand the use of 5G networks across their global network of Tier 1 mines, in effect adding 5G to the existing 4G capability and evolving the two together — where suitable 5G spectrum was available via in-country regulators and/or solution partners,” Ericsson said.
In November 2024, Newmont introduced their intent to work towards a fully 5G, fully automated, fully electrified mining operation at their Tanami mine, and this month revealed their world-first 5G teleremote dozer fleet at Cadia.
Clearly, Ericsson is trying their damndest to get deeper into the private 4G/5G mine. SNS Telecom & IT has told Fierce that Nokia is still No. 1 in this field, having been involved in mine-specfic private cellular “since the early 2010s.”
Ericsson — much like its Nordic rival — sees mining as a golden opportunity for 5G and automation.