Sedna Industrial IT Solutions has strengthened its partnership with Nokia to co-operate on the technological advancement and development of Africa’s mining sector.

With demand for digital solutions and automation in mining on the rise, Sedna and Nokia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Gitex 2022 in Dubai to join forces to accelerate this drive. Sedna is a mining-facing solution integrator which optimizes safety, sustainability, productivity, and efficiency – while Nokia provides ultra-reliable and high-performing wireless connectivity and mission-critical edge solutions to make it all happen.

Sedna is already a trusted partner to Nokia on numerous projects and the MoU now expands the partnership to make the company Nokia’s main system integrator for Africa in mining and other industrial applications. 

“By strengthening our partnership, we can help to rapidly accelerate the digitalization of mining and improve efficiencies and outcomes on their Industry 4.0 journey, ultimately ensuring Africa’s rich mining heritage is protected and maximized thanks to the immense opportunities now on our doorstep,” says Anton Fester, Sedna Managing Director.

The agreement will see best in breed Nokia private LTE networks installed and supported to deliver safer, more efficient, and productive solutions in operational areas above and underground. Sedna will also assist in the solution design and identification of a suitable device ecosystem. 

“Sedna has in-house design and manufacturing capabilities to ensure that dependable networks can be deployed beyond fixed infrastructure limitations,” says Fester. 

The deal will also ensure that Nokia’s industry-leading enterprise solutions portfolio is leveraged, together with Sedna’s strong regional presence and mining know-how. Sedna and Nokia will together work on a spectrum strategy for bespoke customer use cases.

Founded in South Africa in 2006, Sedna has rapidly expanded its solutions and innovation to serve mines globally (it has active operations on three continents) with scoping, sourcing, installing, and supporting enabling operational technology (OT) network technologies. 

“We want to give business leaders the confidence to make business-critical decisions based on real-time, system extracted information delivered via mission-critical communication infrastructure. By leveraging our knowledge of mining operational areas, we continue to deliver engineered solutions safely and predictably,” says Fester.

“Sedna is a trusted Nokia partner and together we have helped mining companies around the world accelerate their transformation to mining 4.0,” said Kamal Ballout, Head of Enterprise Business in China, Middle East and Africa at Nokia.  “We look forward to strengthening our partnership to bring highly reliable private wireless connectivity and mission-critical edge solutions to mining companies across the African continent.”

Nokia has already deployed more than 65 private wireless mining networks with over 35 customers worldwide. Sedna installed Africa’s first licensed spectrum private LTE network in South Africa as well as Africa’s first underground leaky feeder licensed spectrum private LTE network, among many other innovations in the sector.

Both companies aim to expand their solutions broadly across the continent. This will include developing adequate use cases to address customer needs in the region (based on use cases for mine exploration and exploitation – above and underground like situational awareness, mobile connectivity for sensors, field workers and drones, mission-critical push-to-talk and push-to-video, as well as geolocation and geofencing for workers safety.

“Together we will help African mining companies achieve their dreams and succeed on their journey to Industry 4.0,” concludes Fester.