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NTT to trial all-photonics network for remote control at Codelco mine
The project will connect Codelco’s El Teniente underground mine to a remote center in Rancagua to support remote heavy-equipment operation and video monitoring, after Codelco suspended development of the Andes Norte section due to higher seismic risk.
NTT Docomo Business has launched a study and proof of concept to test whether a next-generation all-photonics optical communications network can support remote operation at Codelco’s El Teniente copper mine, about 1,500 km from the mine’s control centre, according to Mining.com.
The trial, commissioned by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, will link the underground site with a remote operations centre in Rancagua using NTT’s Innovative Optical and Wireless Network All-Photonics Network, with the project evaluating high-capacity, low-latency support for remote heavy mining equipment, high-definition video monitoring, and a consolidated operations model.
NTT said it aims to use the initiative to improve safety and operational efficiency in copper mining while also creating new use cases for IOWN APN across the sector. Codelco is conducting the remote operations work as it faces operational challenges at El Teniente, including a development suspension at the Andes Norte section tied to seismic risks.
Mining.com also notes that Codelco previously halted the Andes Norte expansion after six months of geological studies identified greater seismic risks than earlier understood, a move intended to protect workers, while tightening conditions in a copper market already strained by the stoppage.
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