Nokia says it has been chosen by Sigma Lithium, a leading global lithium producer, to deploy the first private LTE wireless campus network in the Americas that supports the mining of lithium – a metal critical to the production of batteries that power electric vehicles. Nokia will work with partner Alcon to roll out the private wireless network at the Grota do Cirilo mining operation in Brazil, which will support 200 Sigma employees and add multiple innovative mining applications that boost productivity and operational efficiency.
As the world converts to more energy-efficient vehicles to combat climate change, demand for lithium is skyrocketing. Exploration globally is expected to increase more than 10 times by 2035. Already a leader in advanced sustainable mining practices, 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.
With the addition of a Nokia private LTE network based on Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (Nokia DAC), the company is ratcheting up its goal to produce next-generation EV batteries in a carbon neutral, socially and environmentally sustainable manner – deploying robust dedicated bandwidth and throughput across its sites. Connecting workers with certified ruggedised devices, industrial edge computing and a catalogue of ecosystem-neutral applications contribute to the creation of a safer working environment and enhance productivity and operational efficiency with crucial mining apps such as dispatch, push-to-talk and push-to-video, and smart badge systems.
Marcelo Marinho, Chief Operating Officer at Sigma Lithium, said: “At Sigma, we are dedicated to powering the next generation of EVs 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.”
Victorio Accon, Commercial Manager at Alcon, said: “We are very pleased to partner with Nokia on this exciting project to bring mission-critical networking to Sigma Lithium. Our expertise in deploying these vital solutions in challenging environments will ensure an optimized roll-out for Sigma Lithium.”
David de Lancelloti, Vice President Enterprise Campus Edge Business at Nokia, said: “This exciting collaboration with Alcon will bring robust connectivity to world-class lithium mining leader Sigma Lithium and accelerate digitalisation. Dedicated, mission-critical connectivity connecting 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.”
