Tharisa Minerals drives connected mining in an African first, with adaptive wireless solution from Datacentrix

The Tharisa Mine is an open-pit platinum group metals and chrome mining operation in the North West province. (Image: Datacentrix)

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Tharisa Minerals, an integrated resource group critical to the energy transition and decarbonisation of economies, has successfully transformed its South African open-pit mining operation into a highly connected, data-driven environment. This is the result of the deployment of an advanced wireless network solution – the first of its type in Africa – in partnership with leading 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 the North West province of South Africa, situated in South Africa’s 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 strategic 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 organisation 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 for supporting fleet management, telemetry and safety systems across assets such as excavators, drill rigs and haul trucks.

“From our perspective, the driver wasn’t the technology itself, but the operational use case,” says Collins. “We needed to ensure that our maintenance teams in the pit could remain connected at all times. Without reliable connectivity, their mobility and efficiency were limited.”

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 explains. “You don’t want to constantly rebuild your network infrastructure 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 ultimately did not meet Tharisa’s requirements due to cost, complexity and limited adaptability.

Gys Malan, Solutions Architect at Datacentrix.

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“We did consider LTE and 5G, but the cost simply didn’t justify the value for our use case,” Collins notes. “We’re a low-cost producer, so we actively look for solutions that support this strategy.”

“The key consideration was finding an alternative to LTE and 5G that could deliver similar functionality, but without the associated cost and complexity,” adds Gys Malan, Solutions Architect at Datacentrix. “Tharisa also needed something easy to manage, without the overhead typically associated with traditional mesh networks.”

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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 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.”

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 approximately a year, delivering reliable connectivity across the mining environment.

Tharisa Minerals drives connected mining in an African first, with adaptive wireless solution from Datacentrix. (Image: Datacentrix)

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“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 simply 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 backbone that can support both critical and non-critical traffic, which is something we didn’t have before,” 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.”

The Tharisa Mine deployment marks the first implementation of RADWIN’s FiberinMotion technology in Africa, positioning the company at the forefront of connected mining innovation on the continent.

With additional deployments already under way across the region, the project is setting a benchmark for how adaptable wireless architecture can enable digital transformation in mining.

“What started as a challenge to achieve reliable connectivity has become a long-term proven platform strategy for us,” Collins comments. “We now know that we’ve invested in something that is not only effective today, but re-usable across the group and scalable for the future.”

To this point, the organisation is currently extending its use of the same technology at Karo Platinum, its newest low-cost, open-pit PGM asset, located on the Great Dyke in Zimbabwe.

“The Tharisa deployment was the first in Africa, and a second is now in progress at Karo Mining in Zimbabwe,” he says. “The Zimbabwe roll-out will cover a significantly larger operational footprint, further demonstrating the scalability of the solution in complex mining environments.”

The ability to deploy and manage the solution remotely has also been a key advantage. “We now have enough confidence in the platform to roll it out in another country without needing a team on-site within close proximity. That’s a critical factor for us.”

Collins highlights the role of Datacentrix as a key factor in the project’s success. “It comes down to trust and responsiveness. If I can pick up the phone and get support when I need it, that makes a big difference,” he says. “Datacentrix understands both the technology and the mining industry, which means we can align quickly and move forward without unnecessary complexity.”

“The RADWIN FiberinMotion solution has subsequently been adopted by several other local mining organisations, with the assistance of Datacentrix, reinforcing its ability to enable safe, scalable and cost-effective digital transformation across the full mining life cycle,” Malan concludes.

For more information, please e-mail Elzette du Preez on edupreez@datacentrix.co.za.