Overview
As mining evolves into a smarter and more automated industry, seamless wireless connectivity is essential for integrating systems and applications. ATDI’s HTZ Communications enables operators to design, plan, and manage wireless networks for autonomous mining fleets, enhancing operations and reliability in dynamic environments.
Challenge
Open-pit mines are constantly changing landscapes, which can disrupt network coverage and quality. Operators must predict and adapt to these changes to maintain reliable wireless connectivity for critical operations. Additionally, managing interference, optimising network capacity, and ensuring effective spectrum sharing are ongoing challenges for operators like Netaxion, who operate in environmentally complex regions like Chile and Peru.
Approach
HTZ Communications addresses these challenges by simulating network coverage and importing updated environmental data to account for terrain changes. Operators can model key RF functions such as best server identification, composite coverage, and coverage overlap. High-resolution datasets and 3D models allow precise environmental modelling, while features like dynamic spectrum access, frequency coordination, and automated site planning optimise spectrum use.
HTZ also supports technologies from a few kHz to 1 THz, providing a comprehensive solution for the entire radio network lifecycle, from outdoor-to-indoor modelling to managing interference and coverage penetration.
Solution
Netaxion, a mining operator in Chile and Peru, reported a significant increase in network availability using HTZ, with an increase from 97.98% to 99.99%. This improvement was achieved through HTZ’s advanced propagation models and its ability to optimise capacity, coverage, and interference management.
HTZ’s automated features, such as optimal site location search and dynamic spectrum access, streamlined the planning process, enabling Netaxion to maintain robust connectivity in their open-pit mines. By modelling environmental impacts and spectrum sharing, HTZ ensures that mining operations remain efficient and reliable, even in challenging conditions.
ATDI collaborates with industry leaders like BHP, Rio Tinto, and Stracon to bring advanced wireless solutions to the mining sector, showcasing HTZ Communications as a trusted tool for modern mining needs.
Mining in South America
Open-pit mining plays a vital role in South America’s economy, particularly in copper and gold extraction. However, it also presents environmental and social challenges, necessitating sustainable practices. Operators like Netaxion rely on HTZ Communications to overcome these challenges while maintaining operational efficiency and connectivity.
