Rogers and partners come together to improve safety, productivity and sustainability in the global mining industry

“We’re proud to play an essential role in advancing safety, productivity, and sustainability in the mining industry through the power of our ultra-fast, ultra-low latency Rogers 5G network.”

We are excited to announce the launch of the Mining Technology Innovation Challenge, a Canada-wide competition for innovators to create 5G applications to enhance safety, productivity and operational improvements in the global mining industry.

As part of the challenge, innovative start-ups and entrepreneurs from across Canada will develop and test technologies on the Rogers 5G Wireless Private Network at the Rogers Technology Centre of Excellence at the NORCAT Underground Centre in Sudbury, Ontario.

Partners supporting the Mining Technology Innovation Challenge include NORCAT, the global leader in skilled labour training and development and innovation services, and the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN), in collaboration with The Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) and Dell Technologies.

Applicants are asked to submit their proof-of-concept ideas by April 28th. On May 10th, finalists will be announced and invited to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges at a later date, including leaders from Rogers, NORCAT and OVIN, as well as Dell, MICA, and leading Canadian mining companies.

Winners will receive up to CAD $100,000 worth of support, including CAD $25,000 in funding to develop their proof-of-concept within the Rogers Technology Centre of Excellence at the NORCAT Underground Centre for up to three months, with access to edge technologies by Dell as well as leverage the support of the OVIN Northern Regional Technology Development Site to commercialize their solution. Throughout the three-month development period, winners will receive up to 100 hours of direct support from challenge partners, industry experts, and engineers. Winners will be announced the first week of May.

“We’re proud to play an essential role in advancing safety, productivity, and sustainability in the mining industry through the power of our ultra-fast, ultra-low latency network,” said Tom Turner, President, Rogers Business. “Supporting the 5G developer community in Canada with access to technology, industry experts, and world-class 5G networks, is critical to advancing innovation and safety across the Canadian mining, construction, and industrial sectors.”

This project builds upon Rogers and NORCAT’s continued collaboration. In October 2022, Rogers announced a five-year strategic partnership with NORCAT to accelerate technology adoption in the global mining industry through the establishment of the Rogers Technology Centre of Excellence at the NORCAT Underground Centre.

“As the global one-stop shop for all that is the future of mining technology and innovation, our goal is to inspire and enable disruptive and innovative thinking within the mining technology ecosystem,” says Don Duval, NORCAT CEO. “As the global mining industry continues to evolve, we have found that increased levels of collaboration, including challenge-based initiatives, have proven to be successful in unearthing fresh ideas and diverse perspectives, and we are thrilled to partner with Rogers, Dell Technologies, OVIN and MICA to further the acceleration, adoption and deployment of emerging technologies that have the potential to revolutionize the global mining industry.”

As part of this investment, Rogers will be adding a new 5G cell site and uplift to an existing tower on its public tower to bring 5G coverage to the NORCAT Underground Centre, enabling NORCAT’s clients to develop, test and demonstrate scalable technologies, including tele-remote and autonomous operations, industrial IoT, asset tracking and drone mapping among many other use cases.

For more information about the Mining Technology Innovation Challenge, please visit https://norcat.org/innovation/open-innovation/challenges/MINING-INNOVATION-CHALLENGE.html