Cellnex-owned Edzcom, one of the pioneer firms in the industrial private cellular market, has been recruited by the Finnish mine redevelopment project Callio to deploy an underground private 5G network in the Pyhäsalmi mine in the municipality of Pyhäjärv in the Northern Ostrobothnia region of Finland. Country-mate Nokia has been appointed to bring in the private 5G network itself.
Callio is a joint project by the town of Pyhäjärvi and the University of Oulu, which seeks to redevelop the Pyhäsalmi Mine as an underground research facility and test mine for the wider Finnish mining industry. The Pyhäsalmi Mine is the deepest metal mine in Europe, descending to 1,445 metres underground. The underground mine network features “the deepest known places in Europe”, said a statement from Edzcom and Nokia.
The site was used to mine copper and zinc, to be processed as pyrite above ground, until it closure as a commercial mining facility, and the move to rescue the facility as a “multidisciplinary operating environment” for Industry 4.0 research and collaboration. The word ‘callio’ is an anglicised version of the Finnish word ‘kallio’ , meaning crystalline bedrock (says Wikipedia). The mine is owned by Canadian mining group First Quantum Minerals.
It is also part of the Baltic Sea Underground Facilities and Innovation Network (BSUIN). Edzcom and Nokia, long-time partners in private networks, said they will build the “world’s best-in-class test mine”, under the Callio brand ‘FutureMINE’, using underground 5G to spring a range of Industry 4.0 use cases. The goal is to “boost the automation and digitalization of the entire mining industry in Finland and internationally”, they said.
Callio says on its website: “Pyhäjärvi’s Callio offers an underground laboratory and test environment for training, research and product development, unlike any other… [which] has been used for research activities for decades… [It] offers companies a unique, stable and safe framework for starting or expanding a successful business, evaluated even by the most critical global metrics.”
Edzcom and Nokia said the facility is available not just for traditional mining companies, but “also for OEM manufacturers of vehicles and machines together with end users of the battery-powered technology, along with companies related to the transport, energy storage, explosives, and tunnel construction industries”. Nokia is contributing its large-sized Modular Private Wireless (MPW) system, including compact mobility unit (CMU) and radio access network (RAN).
The private 5G network will cover a distance of 11.5 kilometres across eight underground levels, and will support predictive maintenance, location services, 3D modelling, advanced analytics, and mining automation, among other use cases. “The project’s key focus include testing and verifying mining applications, developing future mining services… and enabling ecosystems for future digitalisation and development of sustainable solutions,” said Nokia.
Sakari Nokela, chief development officer at Callio Pyhäjärvi, said: “Edzcom and Nokia… [have been] chosen… due to their extensive experience in private wireless networks and their commitment to join us on this journey ahead. Callio recognizes the importance of agility and adaptability in today’s fast-paced digital landscape… We are confident in our ability to make dynamic changes that optimise our network infrastructure and propel us towards greater efficiency and innovation.”
Petri Parviainen, senior key account manager at Edzcom, commented: “We are extremely pleased that Callio entrusts us for our leading position among private network providers in Europe, with proven capabilities to build reliable connectivity solutions in very demanding environments. We are committed with Callio and Nokia the FutureMine to become the best-in-class test mine in the world.”
Pekka Hakala, in charge of private wireless sales for Nokia in Finland, said: “Nokia and Edzcom are excited to strengthen our partnership and push the boundaries of connectivity with this groundbreaking project, to drive digital transformation across industries. By combining our expertise in leading-edge network solutions with Edzcom’s proficiency in private networks and Callio’s forward-thinking approach, we are poised to unlock unprecedented possibilities for underground mines.”
