AFRY advances innovation in mining industry with private 5G networks

Digital innovations enable a more sustainable and efficient mining operation

Under the umbrella of Nexgen SIMS research project, AFRY has integrated monitoring and management of Ericsson Private 5G Network with existing IT-systems in a mining environment.

Integrating private 5G network management with IT monitoring systems in enterprise environments is important for advancing modern connectivity solutions. This integration plays a vital role in driving digitalisation across industries, and the mining industry is a great example of this.

Pioneering the future of mining, Nexgen SIMS project utilises new technology to enable a green transition in the industry

Nexgen SIMS is a large and successful project funded by EU within the scope of Horizon 2020. The project was carried out by an international consortium of world-leading mining companies, equipment and system manufacturers, universities, and service providers such as AFRY.

The purpose of the project was to utilise new technologies, methods and processes to enable a more sustainable, safe and efficient carbon neutral mining operation - as an enabler for a global green transition.

AFRY’s role in the project

With deep customer knowledge and know-how within connectivity, AFRY has been responsible for challenges related to operations and maintenance of private 5G networks in environments with limited possibilities for personal access, for example in mines.

Through a set of questionnaires, workshops and interviews, an overall problem space for the mining companies was established. The most challenging problems were then addressed, and solutions developed.

One challenge was to integrate the Ericsson Private 5G network monitoring information into the existing IT monitoring systems, such as SolarWinds. This was done to make status and alerts observable for the trained mining IT teams.

Through discussions between experts from AFRY, Ericsson and SolarWinds, a successful method for system integration was developed and implemented. Through this solution, the IT teams can monitor the health and performance of private 5G networks, and they can accelerate the response to and remediation of any network events.

Eskil Bendz, unit manager at AFRY within connectivity and communication systems

In our monitoring approach, we not only analyse trend data but also potential issues, like a radio outage, through immediate alerts. We’ve implemented a system where users can click on alerts for in-depth details. While each alert may not always be time-critical, the critical aspect lies in resolving issues promptly to avoid gaps in functionality.

— Eskil Bendz, Business Unit Manager, Connectivity and System Solutions at AFRY

Project Overview

Project: The NEXGEN SIMS project has a focus on the scale-up of promising technologies and demonstrating their potential in real mining environments. The project is divided into many work packages, which in turn consist of several tasks – each led by a qualified work package or task leader. One such work package was Connectivity and Positioning, with one objective to implement private 5G networks underground.

Client: The European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Status: 2021-2024

Location: Sweden and Finland

AFRY’s role: AFRY oversees sub-project management and coordination of stakeholders, and provides expertise and advisory within: Private 5G, Operations and Maintenance, Systems Engineering, and System Integration.