MINING NETWORKS & CONNECTIVITY
country to have this technology. Huawei states:
“The project began in November 2019 and thanks
to Huawei’s advanced tools and technology, a
network coverage plan was made for the
complicated relief of the Constancia Mining Unit.
At least 60 km2, from the pit to the tailings dam,
will have LTE coverage in a first phase, with
download speeds of up to 35 Mbps and 18 Mbps
upload.
“At Huawei we know that the mining industry
must be at the forefront of technology, so we work
hard to meet the needs of the sector. With the
implementation of the LTE network, it will be possible
to optimise processes, gain greater operability and
therefore achieve greater performance,” said Bao
Getang, CEO of Huawei of Peru.
The implementation of the LTE network includes
the digitisation of the processes of the mining
operation such as the optimisation and monitoring
of conditions of the mine fleet, monitoring of
driver conditions, anti-collision system,
implementation and integration of IoT
technologies, ore tracking, as well as the
interoperability of its information systems in
operation and production. All this will allow to
achieve higher performance, minimise risks and
have greater predictability in decision making.
“To achieve digital mining you need to have all
your information systems connected. One of the
characteristics of digital transformation is that
information is power, the more information you
have online the better decisions can be made;
therefore, communication platforms like this (LTE)
become part of the business strategy,”
commented Eduardo Rojas, Manager of
Information Technologies at Hudbay Peru.
It should be noted that the implementation of
the network has been delayed due to the global
situation with COVID-19. However, according to
Eduardo Rojas, once operations at the Minencia
Constancia Unit are resumed at 100% capacity, the
implementation process will take around three
months.
Applying the Huawei LTE network will allow
Hudbay's Constancia operation in Peru to
interconnect the different information systems
as part of its Digital Mining plan. This includes
the mine's Hexagon IDS GeoRadar slope
stability monitoring system
Sul Americana de Metais (SAM) and Huawei
signed on July 8, 2020 a memorandum for the
development of unmanned mining technology and
effective application of 5G in the operation of the
Block 8 Project, which provides for the extraction
and processing of iron ore in northern Minas