Brazilian miner and iron ore producer Vale said this week it has signed an agreement with local carrier Vivo to operate a 4G/LTE private network to aid the miner’s operations in Brazil.
Vale said it will invest BRL 21 million ($5 million) to have the private 4G/LTE coverage, which will help the iron ore producer to “optimize the use of its autonomous equipment.”
Vale’s 4G network will be available for its Carajás mine in Pará state in the first half (H1) of 2020. The Carajás mine has three autonomous drills. It will also soon run automated trucks, Vale added. The 4G coverage will also allow Vale to connect dam monitoring instruments.
“It will boost Vale's autonomous vehicles program, which aims to increase safety by removing employees from the risk area. Autonomous equipment also generates operational efficiency and sustainability gains increasing equipment useful life by almost 15 percent and reducing fuel consumption and maintenance costs by almost 10 percent,” Vale said in a statement.