Skip navigation
ericsson.com
Boliden, Sweden

Boliden, Sweden

Mining automation and the reduction of carbon emissions

Boliden, Sweden

Case
5G & the mining industry, Boliden

Challenge

To explore the role of automation in the mining industry and uncover the business and sustainability value using 4G and 5G technology.

Solution

Ericsson provided a 4G/5G network to automate and remotely control mining equipment at the Boliden Aitik mine.

Impact

Mining automation has significantly lowered costs for Boliden, saving approximately 1 percent of the Aitik mine’s total annual costs. There was also an estimated 10 percent saving in fuel consumption, which corresponds to a reduction of 9,400 metric tons of CO2 emissions at Aitik.

More facts and reading

Reliable communications with mining technology

The future of mining is automated. Once seen as a hazardous and challenging operational environment, the tech revolution is set to dramatically shift our perceptions of the mining industry.

A major driver of this change is a need to be more efficient and productive, safe and resourceful, particularly in light of harsher climates and rising energy costs faced by the industry every day.

To help address these challenges, Ericsson has collaborated with Boliden, ABB, SICS Swedish ICT, and Volvo Construction Equipment to evaluate new mobile communication infrastructures in an industrial context, and to validate new mining technology, applications and business models.

Read more
Sustainable development goals

Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals

The highlighted Sustainable Development Goals are included in the project.

“You can imagine – video surveillance, man down detection, localization of machines, vehicles, things and people. For sure, there will be a lot of use cases we haven’t thought about. Once you have 5G in place, innovation will happen.”
- Peter de Bruin, Master Researcher, Ericsson Research
Learn more about capturing 5G business opportunities

We help service providers capture the business opportunities enabled by 5G – through our leading technology, global industry insights, and a collaborative approach to business development.

Visit the page