Gold miner Newmont has implemented Ericsson Private 5G at its Cadia gold-copper mine in Australia, marking the first use of private 5G technology for teleremote dozing as a part of the mine’s surface operations.
The Cadia mine is said to be Australia’s largest underground mine and a Tier 1 asset.
With the integration of Ericsson Private 5G, Newmont can connect its entire dozer fleet across a 2.5km span from a single 5G radio base, achieving uplink throughput of up to 175 megabits per second.
This has enhanced machine productivity and ensured zero interruptions from communication instability, significantly boosting safe production levels.
Prior to this advancement, Newmont faced challenges with Wi-Fi, limiting connectivity to no more than two machines within a 100m range.
Wi-Fi’s instability often resulted in significant downtime, sometimes halving a 12-hour shift’s productivity due to troubleshooting and attempts to restore connectivity.
Newmont process control, networks and operational cellular director Chris Twaddle said: “Ericsson’s Private 5G network gives us a scalable and high-performing solution that provides the coverage needed and keeps our people safe. It is also enabling our long-term digital transformation vision to use 5G for smart mining at our Tier One surface and underground mines globally.”
Newmont deployed Ericsson’s 5G Antenna Integrated Radio and Massive Multiple Input/Multiple Output (MIMO) technology, which enables the high levels of uplink connectivity required for tele-remote dozing.
The MIMO technology utilises the mid-band spectrum to extend uplink throughput distances beyond traditional radio technologies, effectively increasing network capacity.
Additionally, the Ericsson Uplink Booster, a feature of Ericsson Silicon microprocessors in the radios, amplifies the uplink signal strength tenfold, further enhancing performance capabilities.
Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions Enterprise 5G head Manish Tiwari said: “The deployment with Newmont at Cadia demonstrates the power of 5G for industry, where Ericsson’s industry-leading radio portfolio can reduce the amount of infrastructure that needs to be deployed and operated to cover an industrial site or area.
“This also allows enterprises to use private 5G networks they own to achieve high levels of performance for advanced video-based control and computer vision initiatives without large amounts of spectrum. This is especially valuable to organisations that are operating in spectrum-constrained markets.”
In February 2025, the New South Wales Government approved changes to the planning consent for Newmont’s Cadia mine to improve environmental standards.
