The Australian gold giant will partner with Ericsson and Telstra Purple, deploying 4G long-term evolution (LTE) and 5G networks throughout its underground operations at Cadia Hill gold mine.

These types of services are playing an increasingly important role in the mining industry, with private 4G and 5G networks utilised in vast mine sites across the country.

Indeed, Newcrest has previously engaged the two companies for a private 4G LTE network at its Lihir mine in Papua New Guinea, as well as in the Cadia Valley Operations (CVO).

“In the ongoing quest for productivity, efficiency and safety, Newcrest must use every tool at our disposal to boost performance at site while continuing to ensure that everyone at our mines gets home safely at the end of the day,” CVO general manager Aaron Brannigan said at the Sweden–Australia Sustainable Mining Summit in Sydney.

“With 4G and 5G mobile technologies potentially offering better performance and capabilities than Wi-Fi, this trial will help Newcrest to assess its viability for greater coverage, capacity and functionality to support advanced underground automation … and future growth at Cadia.

“It’s an exciting time for Newcrest and for Australian mining, and this is a great practical example of how Australia’s biggest industry can leverage Australia’s position as a global 5G leader to further drive digitalisation in the mining sector and help develop a smart, safer and more sustainable mine.”

The trial will use Ericsson’s Private 5G (EP5G) solution for Industry 4.0 enterprises to assess different cellular approaches for coverage and capacity needs and deployment economics. It will include the use of various 4G and 5G radio types, massive- and multi-user MIMO (multiple-input-multiple-output) advanced antenna systems for high density and high capacity connectivity requirements, and Uplink Booster technology derived from custom-made Ericsson Silicon system-on-a-chip 5G processors to increase uplink signal strength and data throughput, Newcrest explained.

Ericsson’s Head of Australia and New Zealand, Emilio Romeo, said: “5G connectivity will be instrumental in enabling advanced teleremote and autonomous technologies, which are integral to industries such as mining. We’re delighted to be working with Newcrest and Telstra Purple to trial Ericsson’s 4G LTE and 5G solutions, and enable Newcrest to develop know-how on how to best deploy them underground.”

Telstra Purple Digital Transformation Executive, Paul Nicholls, said: “We’ve been thrilled to see what our 4G LTE and 5G mobile network technologies have been able to do through this project, from supporting wireless mining applications underground, to boosting safety for the local team. These technologies are absolutely transformative for a broad range of industries, and it’s exciting to be part of industry 4.0 innovation in Australia.”

Newcrest has itself made national headlines only recently, after $24 billion proposed takeover offer from US gold giant Newmont.