The Australasian mining business has ploughed funds into quite a few applied sciences over the previous 20 years, from communication and administration programs to drones and autonomous automobiles.
In line with the Minerals Council of Australia, the Australian mining business directed $30bn into tech improvement and analysis between 2005 and 2022.
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The International Mine-Website Know-how Adoption Survey, 2025, performed by MINE’s mother or father firm GlobalData, reveals that Australasian respondents are embracing a big selection of applied sciences designed to enhance productiveness, security and cost-efficiency, particularly in distant places.
As AI additional enhances the enchantment for digital applied sciences, GlobalData’s survey means that Australasian miners will proceed to take a position significantly throughout most tech areas over the approaching years.
Traits in Australasian mining tech investments
A massive share of respondents mentioned they’ve already “absolutely applied” mine communication programs, mine administration software program and drones, equating to 38.5%, 33.3% and 30.8% of respondents, respectively.
In line with Dave Kurtz, international head of mining analysis at GlobalData, this displays a wider development of Australasians being “among the many highest adopters of productiveness and safety-related applied sciences” globally.
Communication networks are the nexus for a variety of good applied sciences, together with robotics and drones, enabling customers to optimise an array of actions equivalent to drilling, blasting and hauling to increase manufacturing. Additionally they scale back the necessity for human intervention, which subsequently minimises security dangers.
The introduction of 5G Web of Issues (IoT) networks has additional enhanced the function of mine communication programs. Integrating IoT and satellite tv for pc applied sciences, for example, has enabled miners to attach bigger numbers of machines and networks to run from the headquarters 1000’s of miles away.
If a communication community is the online connecting all applied sciences, a mining administration system is the mind of the operation, organising and main all processes, from enhancing forecasting to making sure compliance and automating directions for robots.
Mine communication and administration programs are important for productiveness as a result of they supply the potential to totally improve a mining website quite than merely combine new applied sciences into legacy programs, Kurtz explains.
In the meantime, drones have gotten a “necessity” for each productiveness and security as miners transfer into deeper and extra distant terrain, says GlobalData strategic intelligence analyst Aidan Knight. With 95,000 historic and lively mineral extraction websites, most of that are in distant areas, Australia is actively investing in drones to optimise mining operations.
Amongst many different functions, drones can conduct website surveys way more cost-efficiently than people and scale back security dangers by detecting gasoline and managing air flow management programs, which all contribute to decreasing security dangers.
Australasian miners respondents principally responded as solely having significantly or reasonably invested in, quite than absolutely applied, collision avoidance, proximity detection, and fatigue detection – applied sciences crucial to enhancing security. Nonetheless, when put next with the worldwide fee of funding, the area nonetheless leads in these areas.
Australia is an early adopter of fatigue detection know-how, with stories displaying the nation has developed and used it for greater than 20 years. This once more represents the area’s deal with mining security, additionally mirrored of their comparatively stricter and extra progressive security rules in comparison with many different areas. Notably, Australia up to date over 60 mining security requirements for 2025, growing the variety of associated regulatory necessities by 15%.
Though most Australasian respondents mentioned they’ve put little to no funding into autonomous automobiles, this doesn’t mirror their stage of adoption. Trade consultants extensively view autonomous automobiles as a necessity to spice up productiveness by enabling deeper extractions in hard-to-reach locations. Australia has led on this space for years, which explains the present lack of funding in comparison with different tech areas. In 2016, Rio Tinto’s Yandicoogina and Nammildi mines in Western Australia (WA) grew to become the first on this planet to make use of driverless vans to move all their ore.
“Australia was an early adopter of autonomous haul vans, led by BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue, and now has over 1,000 autonomous or autonomous-ready floor mining vans – the second highest globally after China,” says Kurtz.
significantly invested in battery/ electric-powered mining automobiles and an equal proportion in absolutely autonomous/teleremote automobiles, at a time when international demand for Australia’s minerals is rising, the nation’s ore grades are declining and international sustainability calls for are growing.
Anticipated Australasian tech investments
Trying forward over the following two years, the Australasian miners surveyed are prioritising predictive upkeep for future funding.
Predictive upkeep helps mines enhance security and scale back downtime, addressing points equivalent to soiled energy. The introduction of AI in predictive upkeep during the last decade has solely helped to extend its superior analytics capabilities and appeal to funding as Australia welcomes its fourth industrial revolution.
“Funding in predictive upkeep has been robust however is predicted to develop much more as a result of large prices related to downtime within the mining business, which the know-how can assist minimise,” says Kurtz.
The survey adopted a string of Australian mines that lately halted operations resulting from downtime. This consists of Glencore closing its Mount Isa copper mines in July resulting from excessive working prices and depleting ore reserves. Oaky Creek suspended operations from April to July, following water leaks that resulted in an evacuation, and BHP have suspended its nickel operations into 2027 resulting from financing points and market shifts.
Funding in wearable tech, which Australasian miners mentioned at the moment lacks, will start to choose up momentum within the coming years. Wearables equivalent to wristbands, good watches and little field units can detect numerous indicators of a security danger, equivalent to elevated coronary heart fee or worrying adjustments in physique posture. Equally, whereas Australasian respondents mentioned they’d invested the least in digital twin know-how in comparison with respondents from different areas, Australasians are anticipated to take a position probably the most going ahead.
Digital twin know-how has grown in prominence during the last decade, serving to mining corporations take a look at situations and assess danger earlier than deciding whether or not to make adjustments in actuality.
Whereas solely the massive gamers in Australasia equivalent to Rio Tinto and BHP are at the moment within the sport, explaining the restricted uptake by respondents, more and more extra miners want to spend money on the know-how as greater corporations display its potential.
That is evident throughout all know-how sorts, based on Kurtz: “Whereas spending was dominated by the foremost miners, and on the largest mines, we’re seeing mid-size and smaller miners more and more closing the hole on the majors when it comes to know-how adoption, though adoption of autonomous gear will stay primarily amongst the bigger mines resulting from limitations equivalent to excessive capital prices.”
Australasian respondents mentioned they count on to reasonably spend money on autonomous and battery electric-powered automobiles.
Conversely, the present momentum for funding in fatigue detection and collision avoidance is ready to decelerate in Australasia, as consideration shifts elsewhere. Funding in mine communication networks, which regional respondents mentioned they’ve at the moment applied probably the most, can be anticipated to draw much less funding over the following two years.
“Communication networks are amongst probably the most ‘absolutely invested’ of the applied sciences, so extra mature when it comes to funding already,” explains Kurtz.
“Going ahead, we count on to see funding in AI-related know-how, equivalent to digital twins, predictive upkeep and drones, as miners attempt to additional improve productiveness.”
AI in Australasian mining
AI is a key aspect of the technological transformation in mining. GlobalData estimates that mining corporations’ spending on AI will develop from $2.7bn in 2024 to $13.1bn by 2029.
AI’s impression on Australasian mining is evident, with business heavyweights equivalent to Rio Tinto making large strides in its adoption. This consists of AI functions at its Gudai-Darri mine in Pilbara, Australia, the place the corporate is making a 3D mannequin of the mine, utilizing AI-powered digital twin know-how to watch and reply in actual time, in addition to plan their work, entry associated paperwork and information and perform interactive coaching.
Rio Tinto has additionally harnessed AI in biodiversity efforts at its Weipa mine in Australia, the place researchers developed a machine-learning pipeline to detect, monitor and preserve palm cockatoos within the space.
Caterpillar has discovered using AI in autonomous vans to scale back situations of security compromises by 50% and mine prices by 20% at Jimblebar, a BHP-owned mine in Pilbara. AI-powered collision avoidance programs additionally decreased the variety of accidents that happen between automobiles and personnel.
Australian mining main Fortescue has additionally seen nice success in making use of AI for autonomous drilling and enormous autonomous fleets. The corporate mentioned AI implementation has led to a rise in productiveness of near 30%.
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