Sigma Lithium, a lithium mining company producer, is to deploy a private LTE network from Nokia to improve worker safety and operational efficiency at a mine in Brazil. Nokia said it is the first “private LTE… network in the Americas to support mining of lithium. Local telecoms systems integrator Alcon Engenharia de Sistemas (Alcon) is handling the project. The network will support 200 staff at the Grota do Cirilo lithium project in the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil.
Canada-based mineral development company Sigma Lithium is developing an open pit mine and lithium concentrator at the site in Minas Gerais in three phases, in order to supply the rising demand for lithium for use in the production of batteries for electric vehicles, as well as solar energy storage and electronic devices. The Grota do Cirilo project covers 27 mineral ‘rights’, linked to underground lithium deposits, across an area of 191 square kilometres.
The first phase of the project, focused on the Xuxa lithium deposit, entered into commercial production in the second quarter of last year (2023) and has an annual capacity of 270,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate. Sigma Lithium expects to double capacity in phase two, by mining the Barreiro deposit, starting in 2027/28. The company’s lithium plant uses 100 percent renewable energy, 100 percent recycled water, and 100 percent dry-stacked tailings, the company claims.
A press statement sought to further position the Grota do Cirilo as a sustainable endeavour. Nokia said that “demand for lithium is skyrocketing” as the world “converts to more energy-efficient vehicles”. It stated: “Exploration globally is expected to increase more than 10 times by 2035… Sigma produced record amounts of Triple Zero Green Lithium at its Brazil plant in 2023 and its Quintuple Zero Green Lithium was recognized at COP28 as the most sustainable lithium in the world.”
The Finnish firm will supply its Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) private cellular system, as part of a broader Nokia ONE bundle, for the project, to cover mining operations at the Xuxa mine. The plan is to supply workers with ruggedised devices, industrial edge computing and a “catalogue of ecosystem-neutral applications” to attach to the new LTE network. It listed “crucial mining apps” such as dispatch, push-to-talk, push-to-video, and smart badge systems.
Nokia said: “Dedicated, mission-critical connectivity [for] industrial devices and applications is at the heart of revolutionising the way the mining sector operates – keeping employees safe and enabling high-performance operations that deliver results.” Alcon said: “Our expertise in deploying these vital solutions in challenging environments will ensure an optimised roll-out for Sigma Lithium.”
Marcelo Marinho, chief operating officer at Sigma Lithium, said: “We are dedicated to powering the next generation of electric vehicles in the most sustainable manner. We are very excited to work with Nokia and Alcon to enhance worker safety and efficiency while continuing to expand our exploration of a metal critical to the world’s energy transition.”
