Debswana and Huawei have jointly announced the launch of the world's first 5G-oriented smart diamond mine project.
Debswana's Head of Information Management Molemisi Nelson Sechaba said that the Huawei-enabled smart mine solution has been deployed at Debswana's Jwaneng open-pit diamond mine, and the project started operation in December 2021.
How it works
Huawei's 4G eLTE private network solution provides stable connectivity for the Jwaneng mine, connecting more than 260 pieces of equipment, including drilling rigs, excavators, heavy trucks, and pickup trucks. This enables interconnection between the mine's production, safety and security systems.
Before this solution was adopted, the previous solution has two limitations. First, it has limited coverage. Second, it uses public wireless frequencies and has less robust anti-interference capabilities. As a result, the mine's different types of data could not be transferred stably in real time.
Sechaba said that it is important to deploy the eLTE solution to connect mining equipment more stably. There are two reasons for this. The first is efficiency. The ability to transfer data in real time makes equipment like mining vehicles more efficient, increasing yield and reducing long-term OPEX. Second, the solution helped improve safety. Real-time data collection, backhaul, and interaction make the system more sensitive and accurate to provide more reliable protection for staff and vehicles.
Jwaneng Mine leading the way
The Jwaneng mine is the world's first 5G-oriented smart diamond mine. This means the hardware equipment such as base stations used in the mine's digital transformation solution support network upgrades to 5G. 5G features like high bandwidth and low latency can support the application of cutting-edge technologies like autonomous driving, enabling more intelligent digital transformation of the mining industry in the future.
Hon. Thulagano M. Segokgo, Minister of Communications, Knowledge and Technology of Botswana, stated that, the Government of Botswana is pleased to see Debswana and Huawei's joint efforts to drive digital transformation in the mining industry. Debswana is a leading mining company in Africa that, by working with Huawei, can take the efficiency, productivity and safety of mining to the next level.
According to Debswana, building on the success of the project in the Jwaneng mine deployed together with Huawei and Botswana local companies, in line with Botswana's citizen economic empowerment program, the company plans to also deploy the smart mining solution in its Orapa, Damtshaa, and Letlhakane mines in 2023.