3G Coverage at Australian Gold and Copper Mines

Australia's Telstra says that it has spent AU$2.4 (US$2) million extending its network to cover the new Oxiana Gold and Copper mine in South Australia.

The Oxiana Gold and Copper mine under construction is located at Prominent Hill, 650 kilometres north-west of Adelaide, and features an open-pit mine and a permanent village to accommodate more than 400 staff.

As part of the infrastructure project, Telstra installed a 150 kilometre fibre-optic from Coober Pedy to Prominent Hill, built a new exchange and installed a HSDPA capable base station at Prominent Hill to supply the Oxiana open-pit mine and permanent staff village with vital communications services.

Telstra Chief Operations Officer, Greg Winn, said the complex project was completed in searing temperatures in a record time of six weeks.

"This massive job required 66 cubic metres of concrete, ploughing more than 150 kilometres of optic fibre to and within the site, and installing a new 40 metre high mobile tower and fully equipped exchange building.

"Work of this scale would usually take many months, but Telstra employees worked very hard to complete this project in only six weeks despite onsite temperatures over 45 degrees."

Telstra Country Wide Area General Manager for South Australia North, John Tonkin, said the Oxiana mine previously relied solely on satellite communications to run its operations."

Posted to the site on 30th April 2007