Tharisa Minerals, an integrated resource group that supplies critical minerals for the energy transition and decarbonisation of economies, has transformed its South African open-pit mining operation into a highly connected, data-driven environment. This is enabled by an advanced wireless network solution – the first of its type in Africa – implemented in partnership with hybrid ICT systems integrator and digital transformation partner, Datacentrix.
Tharisa Minerals’ core asset is the Tharisa Mine, an open-pit platinum group metals (PGM) and chrome mining operation in South Africa’s North West Province, situated on the western limb of the Bushveld Complex, which is home to more than 70% of the world’s platinum and chrome resources.
Tharisa’s Chief Information Officer, Paul Collins, approached Datacentrix to help solve a challenge common to modern mining operations: enabling reliable, pit-wide wireless connectivity capable of keeping pace with the constantly shifting topology of an open-pit mine.
The company had previously relied on standard 3G coverage, through SIM cards in certain fleet vehicles. However, this did not support Tharisa’s vision of ‘Connected Machines and Connected People’, where real-time data from mobile mining equipment, operational systems and field personnel is enabled to flow seamlessly across the site. This level of connectivity is critical to supporting fleet management, telemetry and safety systems across assets such as excavators, drill rigs and haul trucks.
“We needed to ensure our maintenance teams in the pit could remain connected at all times,” says Collins. “Without reliable connectivity, their mobility and efficiency were limited.”
The connectivity challenge
In an open-pit environment, conditions are constantly changing. Benches shift, haul roads move and line-of-sight conditions are continuously affected, creating dead spots.
“The simplest way to describe it is that the hotspots are always moving,” Collins says. “You don’t want to rebuild your network infrastructure constantly to accommodate this. It needs to adapt automatically as the operational environment evolves.”
Traditional wireless approaches, including mesh networks and private LTE or 5G, were evaluated but did not meet Tharisa’s requirements due to cost, complexity and limited adaptability.
“We’re a low-cost producer, so we look for solutions that support this strategy,” says Collins.
Gys Malan, Solutions Architect at Datacentrix adds: “The key consideration was finding an alternative to LTE and 5G that could deliver similar functionality, but without the associated cost and complexity. Tharisa also needed something easy to manage, without the overhead typically associated with traditional mesh networks.”
A flexible alternative
To address these challenges, the two organisations identified RADWIN’s FiberinMotion® technology as a viable alternative, offering high throughput, low latency and the ability to support mobility in demanding environments.
Following initial consultations, Tharisa and Datacentrix collaborated on a Proof of Concept (POC) to validate the solution in a live mining environment. The POC incorporated a hybrid design of fixed high sites for point-to-multipoint and point-to-point connectivity, along with two temporary six-metre high mobile towers simulating trailer-mounted high sites.
Testing extended across several fleet assets, including excavators, a dump truck and a light-duty vehicle, to assess roaming performance, handover capability and overall network stability.
“The POC phase involved multiple iterations, with repeated testing and validation under real-world conditions until we were confident in the solution, and the results were very encouraging,” says Collins. “We achieved broad coverage, and even where there were minor gaps, they aligned with our expectations based on tower positioning. It gave us confidence that we could meet our operational requirements.”
From concept to deployment
Following the successful POC, Datacentrix deployed the permanent network infrastructure, including two ruggedised, trailer-mounted towers acting as nomadic high sites that can move with the pit as it evolves. The solution has now been operational for about a year, delivering reliable connectivity across the mining environment.
“The key outcome for us was enabling telemetry across our fleet and improving visibility into performance,” Collins explains. “We can now stream data, monitor operations and even support video feeds from equipment like excavators. That wasn’t possible before.”
In addition to operational efficiency, the solution has enhanced safety through improved monitoring and control of fleet activity.
“For example, we can track behaviours such as unsafe machine operation, enabling better operational control and contributing to safer working conditions,” he adds.
Beyond immediate benefits, the deployment has established a scalable digital platform for Tharisa’s broader operations.
“We now have a network that can support critical and non-critical traffic,” says Collins. “There’s still a maturity journey ahead in terms of optimisation, but the platform is stable and performing well.”
According to Malan, the total cost of ownership of the infrastructure is also lower because it can be managed end-to-end internally. “This is different to an LTE environment, for example, which often would require external dependencies.”
A new benchmark for Africa
The Tharisa Mine deployment marks the first implementation of RADWIN’s FiberinMotion® technology in Africa, positioning the company at the forefront of connected mining on the continent.
With additional deployments already underway across the region, the project sets a benchmark for how adaptable wireless architecture can enable digital transformation in mining.
For more information visit: www.datacentrix.co.za