machine learning in mining
The future of mining is already here - and it’s being shaped by AI systems that can think, act and integrate seamlessly with the tools you already use.
When Alejo Sfriso, corporate consultant at SRK Consulting Argentina, stepped up to the podium at the Life of Mine | Mine Waste and Tailings 2025 conference in Brisbane, his message was as direct as it was disruptive: it’s time to leave deterministic factor-of-safety thinking behind.
The future of mineral exploration may hinge less on drill rigs and more on the quality of the data flowing from them.
Henry Dillon, Global Customer Success Manager - Geoscience at Maptek, used his time on stage at APCOM2025 in Perth to challenge one of the industry’s most entrenched habits - treating resource models as static snapshots.
A cloud-hosted machine learning model, linked securely to a plant control system, has helped eliminate costly surging in dense medium cyclones - and in one case, safeguarded millions in weekly coal revenue.
AI can transform mining operations, but as Dr Penny Stewart warns, its real value will only be unlocked if the technology is transparent, tested and trusted.
Dr Sandra Occhipinti, research director in minerals at Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, is leading a team of more than 100 scientists focused on one of the most complex challenges in modern exploration: how to accelerate mineral discovery in covered terrains while simultaneously improving geometallurgical insight across the mining value chain.
In an industry awash with plug-and-play software and AI buzzwords, Oliver “Olly” Willetts, senior geologist and resource estimation consultant at SRK Consulting, stands out for his clear-eyed, problem-first approach to geoscientific data management.
In the drive to improve energy efficiency, recovery, and metallurgical precision, a global engineering company has released a quiet disruptor: a machine-learning-enabled sensor that’s helping mining operations monitor and optimise grind size with new levels of accuracy.
What if resource estimation wasn’t just updated, but completely reimagined? At the AusIMM 2025 Mineral Resource Estimation Conference in Perth, two respected voices in the field—Jacqui Coombes and Paul Hodkiewicz—stepped away from PowerPoint slides and into a candid, thought-provoking dialogue that challenged the mining industry to rethink its most foundational assumptions.
