Digitalization of the Mining Industry: From Point Solutions to End-to-End Transformation
The mining industry has traditionally been an industry with long production chains and difficult working conditions. This makes it very conservative in terms of introducing new technologies. However, the pressure of global competition, growing safety and environmental requirements, as well as the need to optimize costs, are pushing enterprises to switch to new principles of work through digital transformation.
Digitalization is more than automation
Experts emphasize that digitalization is not just automation. According to IDC (2023), in the mining industry, only 30% of companies consider digitalization as a transformation of the business model, while the majority are limited to the automation of individual operations. Elena Sapunova, Director of Mining Industry Solutions at CROC, and Pavel Kalyakin, CEO of INKA 4.0, believe that the goal of digitalization is to increase efficiency, speed up decision-making, and improve safety, transparency, and productivity. A study by the Institute of Mining of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2024 showed that, for example, the introduction of digital monitoring systems in mines reduced the accident rate by 25% and improved compliance with environmental requirements by 15%.
Vectors of development
According to Mikhail Aronson, CEO of the Zyfra Group of Companies, the digitalization of mining maintains a sustainable vector of development set a few years ago. A joint study by Zyfra and the Yakov & Partners consulting group in 2024 identifies three main trends: end-to-end production management technologies — unified control centers that integrate all stages of production; digital twins that allow you to simulate production processes; and robotics, which ensures autonomy and safety of work.
End-to-end management technologies
One of the striking examples of the introduction of end-to-end technologies was the Geometallurgy project being implemented for Evraz at the Kachkanar field. The system allows you to track the quality of ore from the face to the final plant, automating mining equipment, rail transport and production lines. This approach ensured stable ore quality, reduced the iron content in tailings by fractions of a percent, reduced the number of operations at the mill and significantly increased the output of the final product. The economic effect is hundreds of millions of rubles a year, Aronson summed up.
Robotization
The use of unmanned technologies and robots is also developing in Russia. There are already experiments with SUEK's unmanned dump trucks, and robotic drilling rigs are being introduced at UMMC, according to Excellence Expert. Alrosa, according to TASS, is engaged in a robotic rock breaker, which independently breaks oversized ore fragments during underground mining. According to Alexander Popov, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Norilsk Nickel, in five years the industry will be 30% unmanned. And Anton Bolotov, Director of Strategic Development at Metalloinvest, adds that in the next five years it will become clear which cars need to be converted into unmanned ones and which not.
Artificial Intelligence: First Steps in the Mining Industry
Despite the fact that generative AI (for example, GPT models) has not yet become widespread in mining, artificial intelligence technologies are already actively used in a number of areas, according to Zyfra. The first is computer vision. An example is the Antisleep system, which analyzes the driver's state in real time, identifying fatigue, stress and actions that reduce efficiency and safety.
Secondly, video analytics is used to determine the particle size distribution of the explosion - the size of pieces of rock mass after drilling and blasting. This allows you to optimally select the volume of explosives and minimize the cost of further processing. For example, at the Raspadskaya Coal Company, video analytics is used to analyze damage on conveyor belts in order to prevent production stoppages.
Thirdly, the construction of mathematical models that help to form "hints" to dump truck drivers and equipment operators, optimizing operating modes. The result is a reduction in tyre wear by up to 70% and fuel savings of 5-7%.
Barriers to Digital Growth
Despite the obvious benefits, the pace of digitalization of the mining industry in Russia remains low. Among the reasons are the high cost and long payback of projects, as well as the need to update outdated equipment, according to TAdviser. The departure of foreign vendors has had a negative impact on SCADA, MES, ERP, BI class systems, since they are no longer supported and need to be replaced, according to Excellence Expert. Representatives of Gazprom Neft pointed to the lack of specialists ready to work with AI. Pavel Maryshev, Development Director of Energia Plus LLC, member of the expert council at the Russian Gas Society, noted the shortage of free capital, high interest rates and slow technological localization among the main barriers to further digitalization.
"On the slides, everything looks pretty good: many companies have digital strategies written out, up-to-date roadmaps have been developed. But in practice, digitalization often comes down to point pilots and projects that are not scalable," emphasizes Maxim Vlasyuk, Director of the Industrial Sector Department of the Arenadata Group.
But there are also advantages
Nevertheless, there is also a positive trend. Thus, the market for the domestic development of digital products for the mining industry has expanded significantly: the number of players has grown by almost 40%, to 250 in 2024, and the total revenue of the largest IT suppliers has exceeded 96 billion rubles. The volume of the market for solutions for the mining industry tripled last year and amounted to approximately 30-40 billion rubles. These figures were given by Victoria Shubochkina, founder and CEO of the consulting company Excellence Expert and the IT company Taiga. Investments by the enterprises themselves are increasing, state support and the need for import substitution are also strong drivers of development.
It can be summarized that the digitalization of the mining industry in Russia is at the stage of transition from targeted projects to systemic transformation. Successful cases show that with a competent strategy, willingness to invest in personnel training and equipment modernization, digital technologies can bring hundreds of millions of rubles in savings, improve the safety and environmental friendliness of production. However, for these solutions to be widely adopted, barriers must be overcome, from outdated infrastructure to staffing shortages. In the future, it is the comprehensive digital transformation that will become the key to the sustainable development and global competitiveness of the Russian mining sector.
Digital solutions at MiningWorld Russia
In recent years, digitalization has become one of the key topics for discussion in Russia and the world. MiningWorld Russia is no exception. As part of this year's business program, they discussed not just the automation of individual processes, but the restructuring of the entire business model based on digital technologies, robotization and much more. The VI Forum of Mining Industry Leaders was held, where, among other things, case sessions on mining and metallurgy digitalization projects were presented.
At the exhibition, an entire section is dedicated to digitalization — "IT technologies, automation and robotization in the mining industry". In 2026, it will become the focus section of MiningWorld Russia. This year, more than 25% of visitors to the exhibition were interested in IT technologies, solutions for automation and robotization in the mining industry - this is every fourth visitor! Interest in this thematic section among specialists has increased by 37% over the past year.
This is not surprising: the needs of Russian mining companies in digitalization and automation are growing every year. The presence of financial support from the state, which is ready to allocate funds for the digitalization and automation of mining enterprises, is encouraging. For example, the federal government plans to allocate about 350 billion rubles for industrial robotization over six years, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports.
It is most convenient to establish contacts between developers and suppliers of digital solutions and the enterprises themselves on the professional platform MiningWorld Russia.
// More than 10,500 specialists visit the exhibition
// 92% influence procurement decisions, and 47% have a budget of more than 50 million rubles.
// More than half of the specialists visit only MiningWorld Russia among the exhibitions of similar topics
For manufacturers and suppliers, participation in MiningWorld Russia 2026 is an opportunity to directly reach their target audience and conclude contracts with maximum benefit.
We are waiting for you on April 22-24, 2026 at the Crocus Expo IEC!