Anglo American Brazil and Brazilian telecommunications company TIM have signed an agreement to extend Anglo’s 4G LTE coverage in the states of Minas Gerais, Goias, and Rio de Janeiro, so the company can manage both its nickel and iron ore businesses.
In Brazil, Anglo American owns the Minas-Rio iron ore site, a 529kmlong (328milelong) pellet feed-transporting slurry pipeline project. According to both companies, the agreement will help Anglo American Brazil expand its 4G coverage for five plants, including the Minas-Rio site, as well as other areas whose activities are labeled by the company as “critical,” but which need connectivity.
“Supporting the connectivity in (mining) sites is key to guarantee the implementation of continuous technologies within the production process,” said Paulo Gouvea, director of corporate solutions at TIM.
“An increased connectivity in our plants, which allows the use of new technologies and management of the so-called 4.0 industry, is one of the premises in our innovation path towards … our sustainable mining plan,” said Wilfred Bruijin, CEO at Anglo American Brazil.