The seismic effect of automation, robots and Al on the mining sector

These trends are about to shake the global economy and will drive demand for the minerals and metals mined worldwide. Copper, especially, is emerging as a key resource for the Al and tech revolution.

- By Ed Stoddard

Robots will be an extension of mechanisation trends that have already delivered huge advances in mine health, safety and productivity.

(Image: Midjourney AI)

Could humanoid robots eventually replace human rock-drill operators in South Africa’s deep and dangerous mines? “One hundred percent. I think technology will develop to get us there,” was how Harmony Gold CEO Beyers Nel responded when asked this question during an interview on the sidelines of the Investment in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town. “It’s called ‘people-out-of-risk technologies. How do we get people out of harm’s way?”

Viewed through this prism, robots will be an extension of mechanisation trends that have already delivered huge advances in mine health, safety and productivity. Machines have replaced human rock-drill operators in many shafts, removing humans from a potentially lethal danger zone.

And the pace of technology on this front is accelerating at a blistering pace.

According to Counterpoint Research, global humanoid robot installations reached 16,000 units in 2025, and China unsurprisingly accounted for more than 80% of this android total.

This marked the “genesis year” for humanoid robots — the first year of mass production and commercialisation. And the numbers look set to swell from this base.