Minera Don Nicolás contracted Movistar Argentina to provide LTE at its gold-silver mine in Santa Cruz, with planned investment of US$6mn in 2024.
“Given that the government is not investing in connectivity in Santa Cruz, we have to do it from the companies and for the mining sites,” Don Nicolás CEO Verónica Nohara told BNamericas on the sidelines of Telefónica’s Hispam Forum event in Buenos Aires.
“We are moving to an underground mine operation next year, so it will be key for us to be able to move forward with the LTE network to have the equipment monitored,” she told the event.
Connectivity would be the first step toward full mine automation, which will improve safety, efficiency and operation.
“We are already monitoring, but these are isolated compartments. The LTE network will unite digital technology with the already installed systems in the company and, in this way, achieve much more efficiency from a single control center. We have it with three fronts, at a distance of 50km from one operation to the other,” she told BNamericas.
The locations of cells are currently being evaluated. To cover the distances of the project, placing cells and subcells or repeaters across the property is being considered.
Aside from Movistar, Datamind is another provider in the private network project. “We are inviting Caterpillar, Scania and Finning because the equipment that is managed remotely is from these suppliers,” Nohara said.
Source: https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/argentinas-minera-don-nicolas-to-invest-in-private-lte-network