Evidence-BasedResearchontheImpactof

NewTechnologies

intheMining

IndustrySecretariathostedbyCUSDSecretariatfundedbycanada·20YEARSkingdomoftheNetherlands?2025InternationalInstituteforSustainableDevelopmentPublishedby

theInternationalInstituteforSustainableDevelopmentThispublicationislicensedunderaCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike4.0InternationalLicense.TheInternationalInstituteforSustainableDevelopment(IISD)

is

anaward-winningindependentthinktankworkingtoacceleratesolutionsfor

astableclimate,sustainableresourcemanagement,

andfair

economies.Ourworkinspiresbetterdecisionsand

sparks

meaningful

actionto

helppeopleandtheplanetthrive.Weshinea

lighton

what

can

be

achievedwhengovernments,businesses,non-profits,and

communities

cometogether.

IISD’sstaffofmorethan200expertscomefromacrossthe

globe

andfrommanydisciplines.WithofficesinWinnipeg,Geneva,Ottawa,

and

Toronto,ourworkaffectslives

in

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countries.IISDisaregisteredcharitableorganization

inCanada

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501(c)(3)statusintheUnitedStates.IISDreceivescore

operating

supportfromthe

ProvinceofManitobaandprojectfundingfromgovernmentsinsideandoutsideCanada,UnitedNationsagencies,foundations,theprivatesector,

andindividuals.TheIntergovernmentalForumonMining,Minerals,Metals

and

SustainableIISDHEADOFFICE111

Lombard

AvenueSuite325Winnipeg,Manitoba

Canada

R3B0T4IISD.orgX-TWITTER

@IISD_newsIGFMining.orgDevelopment(IGF)supportsitsmorethan80member

countries

inadvancingtheirsustainabledevelopmentgoalsthrougheffectivelaws,policies,andregulationsfortheminingsector.Wehelpgovernmentstake

actiontodevelopinclusiveandgender-equitablepractices,optimizefinancialbenefits,supportlivelihoods,andsafeguardtheenvironment.Ourworkcoversthefullmininglifecycle,fromexplorationtomineclosure,

andprojectsofallsizes,fromartisanalminingtolarge-scaleoperations.Guidedbyourmembers’needs,weprovide

in-countryassessments,capacitybuilding,technicaltraining,publications,andeventstoadvancebestpractices,peerlearning,andengagementwith

industryandcivilsociety.

TheInternationalInstituteforSustainableDevelopmenthas

hosted

theIGFSecretariatsinceOctober2015.Corefundingis

provided

by

thegovernmentsofCanadaandtheNetherlands.Evidence-BasedResearchontheImpactof

New

TechnologiesintheMining

IndustryDecember2025Writtenbythe

IGFSecretariat.Photo:

iStockACKNOWLEDGEMENTSLeadauthorsofthis

publicationareSidi

Younga,

EgeTekinbas,

Grégoire

Bellois,and

Isabelle

Ramdoo.X-TWITTERlinkedinfacebook

@IGFMiningExecutiveSummaryTheglobalminingsectorisexperiencingaprofoundtransformationdriven

by

the

increasing

demandforcriticalmineralsessentialtotheenergyanddigitaltransitions,alongsidemountingpressuresfrominvestors,consumers,andcivilsociety

formoresustainableandequitableminingpractices.Accompanyingandsupportingthistransformation,newtechnologiesarebeingrapidlyintegratedintolarge-scalemining

operations,significantlyimpactinglabourmarkets,supplychains,andhostcommunities.

This

report

providesananalysisoftechnologyadoptionandtheirassociatedimpacts,drawingoncasestudiesfrom

sixlarge-scaleminingoperationsinsixdifferentcountries:Australia,

Burkina

Faso,

C?ted’Ivoire,theDemocraticRepublicoftheCongo(DRC),Guinea,and

SouthAfrica.KeyFindingsThefindingsoutlinedherecomefrombothqualitativeinformationandquantitativedata

gatheredfromminingcompanies:?acceleratedtechnologicaladoption:Miningcompaniesare

increasingly

integratingadvancedtechnologiessuchasartificialintelligence(AI),autonomousmachinery,and

dataanalytics.Thistrendenhancesoperationalefficiencyandsafety,particularlyinundergroundmining,butvariesbyregionduetodifferences

in

resourcesand

infrastructure.?disparitiesbetweeneconomies:Advancedminingeconomies

likeAustralia

and

South

Africaareleadingintechnologyadoptionduetobetterfinancialandinfrastructuralresources.Incontrast,emergingminingeconomies,including

Burkina

FasoandtheDRC,facechallengessuchashighcostsandlimitedconnectivity,whichslowthepace

ofadoption.However,decliningtechnologycostsmayeventuallyimproveaccessibility

intheseregions.?labourmarketshifts:Adoptionofnewtechnologies

is

reshapingthelabour

market

by

reducingdemandforlow-skilled

jobsandincreasingtheneedforspecializedskillsin

informationtechnologies(IT),datamanagement,andengineering.Whileautomation

reducesthedemandforcertainroles,italsocreatesnew,higher-paidopportunities.

However,these

jobsrequirequalificationsthatareofteninsufficientlyavailablelocally,particularlyindevelopingcountries.?variedimpactson

job:Theeffectoftechnologicaladoptiononemploymentvarieswidelyacrosscountriesexaminedinthisreport.Somecompanieshavereducedtheirworkforces,whileothershaveredeployedorretrainedemployeestominimize

joblosses.Themostdisruptivetechnologiesarestillintheearlystagesofadoption

inmostcountriesexamined;therefore,thefullimpactonemploymentisyettobe

assessed.?gendered

jobopportunities:Technologiesareopeningupjobopportunitiesforwomen,

buttheiruptakeislimitedbytheunderrepresentationofwomeninscience,technology,

engineering,andmathematicsfields.Targetedpoliciesandinitiativesareneededtoaddressthisimbalanceandincreasewomen’sparticipationinthe

jobsneededforthe

digitalizationofmining.

iiiEvidence-BasedResearchontheImpactofNew

TechnologiesintheMining

Industry?indirectandlocalbenefits:Technologyadoption

isgenerating

indirectjobopportunitiesandnewbusinessventures,particularlyindigitalservices.

However,

inemergingeconomies,localbenefitsarelimitedduetotherelianceonimported

technologiesandlackoflocalmanufacturingcapacity.?needforproactivemeasures:Both

mining

companies

and

governments

aretaking

stepstoaddressthechallengesposedbythedeploymentofnewtechnologies,but

furtheractionisneeded.Thisincludesimprovingworkforceskillsandcapabilities,

fosteringlocaltechnologicalinnovation,andenhancingcommunityengagementto

ensurebroad-basedbenefits.PolicyRecommendationsTonavigatetheongoingtransformationintheminingsectorandensurethatitsbenefits

arebroadlyshared,governmentsandcompaniesmustadoptforward-looking,data-driven

strategies.Keyrecommendationsincludethefollowing:?monitorlabourdynamics:implementsystemstotracktheimpactoftechnologieson

jobsandskills,andtheskillsrequirementsoftheminingsector,allowingfortimelysupportandadaptation;?adapttrainingprograms:aligneducationalandvocationaltrainingwiththeemerging

needsoftheminingsector,focusingondigitalandtechnicalskills;?investininfrastructure:enhanceconnectivityand

digital

infrastructure,especially

in

emergingeconomies,tofacilitatewidertechnologyadoption;?supportlocalcontent:encouragelocal

productionand

service

provisionthrough

contentpoliciesandtechnologyhubs;?engagecommunities:fostercommunityinvolvementintechnologyadoption,ensuring

localbenefitsandaddressingpotentialsocialimpacts.Thisreportunderscorestheneedforacollaborativeapproachbetweengovernments,

industry,

andcommunitiestomanagethecomplexdynamicsoftechnologicalchangeintheminingsector.Byproactivelyaddressingthechallengesandseizingtheopportunitiespresentedbynew

technologies,stakeholderscanensurethatthebenefitsofmining'sdigitaltransformation

aresharedwidelyandequitably. ivEvidence-BasedResearchontheImpactofNew

TechnologiesintheMining

IndustryTableofContents1.0Background,Purpose,andScopeoftheStudy

..........................................................................11.1

Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................................................................11.2

BackgroundandPurpose

ofthe

Study

................................................................................................................................21.3CountriesandOperationsSelection

.....................................................................................................................................21.4Scopeand

Limitationsofthe

Report.....................................................................................................................................32.0OverviewofTechnologicalLandscape

...........................................................................................52.1

Taxonomyof

Disruptive

Technologies....................................................................................................................................52.2AssessmentFramework

....................................................................................................................................................................83.0ImpactofNew

TechnologiesonJobs............................................................................................

124.0

KeyFindings..............................................................................................................................................145.0PolicyRecommendations...................................................................................................................39References.........................................................................................................................................................43AppendixA.IndirectOccupationsEmergingFromtheDevelopmentofNewTechnologies.....................................................................................................................................................46ListofFiguresFigure1.

Taxonomyofdisruptivetechnologiesintheminingsector........................................................................6Figure2.

Illustrationof

CAS................................................................................................................................................................................8Figure3.Adoption

rate

of

new

technologies

by

mining

companies

based

on

the

survey................15Figure4.Illustrationofnew

technologiesembeddedin

a

mining

autonomoustruck

...........................17Figure5.Adoptionbylevelofcountries1

economic

development

.............................................................................19Figure6.

Mapof5G

network

asof

March2024..........................................................................................................................20Figure7.Simplifiedrepresentationof

labourmarket

dynamics.................................................................................22Figure8.Share

of

IT

hiring

in

the

mining

industry

in

Australia

in

March2022,by

jobclassification

................................................................................................................................................................................................25ListofTablesTable1.Newtechnologiesassessed

inthestudy.......................................................................................................................9Table2.Impactscoreoftechnologies

in

mining

labour

market.................................................................................22Table3.

New

jobscreateddueto

newtechnologies...............................................................................................................24Table4.Destroyedand

decliningjobsdueto

newtechnologies...............................................................................

28Evidence-BasedResearchontheImpactofNew

TechnologiesintheMining

IndustryvTable5.Netimpactonjobsfromnew

technologies,examplefromcasestudies

...................................30Table6.Impactofnew

technologiesonexistingtechnologies

.................................................................................33Table7.Distributionofnew

technologiessourcingandmanufacturing

perorigin

.................................35Table8.Summaryofsomeactionsconductedbygovernmentsandmining

companiestoimproveskills

development...............................................................................................................................................................................37Table

9.

Policy

recommendations...............................................................................................................................................................

39TableA1.Indirectoccupationemergingfromthedevelopmentofnew

technologies

........................46ListofBoxesBox1.Machineinterfacecontrol:Improving

collision

avoidance

at

mine

site................................................

7Box

2.

Highlight...............................................................................................................................................................................................................17Box

3.

Highlight.............................................................................................................................................................................................................20Box4.

Highlight

.............................................................................................................................................................................................................21Box

5.

Highlight.............................................................................................................................................................................................................26Box6.

Breakingdownroles:

Tasks

vs.occupations

..................................................................................................................27Box7.Descriptionofa

remotelyoperated

mine

inAustralia

........................................................................................31Box8.

Highlight

............................................................................................................................................................................................................32Box

9.

Highlight..............................................................................................................................................................................................................37

viEvidence-BasedResearchontheImpactofNew

TechnologiesintheMining

Industry1.0Background,Purpose,andScopeof

theStudy1.1IntroductionInrecentyears,theminingindustryhasundergonesignificantchangeswiththeadoptionof

newtechnologies.Buildingonthefindingsofthe2018IntergovernmentalForumonMining,

Minerals,

MetalsandSustainable

Development(IGF)researchproject

New

Tech

New

Deal(Ramdoo,2019),whichexploredthepotentialimpactsofemergingtechnologiesonthesector,thisreporttakesastepfurtherbyempiricallyanalyzingtherealimpactsofthese

technologies,notablyonlabourmarkets,supplychains,andhostcommunities

acrossthe

miningvaluechain.Focusingoncasestudiesfromsixcountries—Australia,Burkina

Faso,C?ted’Ivoire,theDemocraticRepublicoftheCongo(DRC),Guinea,andSouthAfrica—thisreport

highlightshow

theintegrationofadvancedtechnologieslikeAIandautonomousmachineryis

reshaping

theindustry.Whiletheseadvancementsareimprovingefficiencyandsafety,particularlyinadvancedeconomies,theyarealsocreatingdisparitiesbetweenregionswithdiffering

resourcesandinfrastructures.Labourmarketdynamicsareshifting,withareduceddemandforlow-skilledjobsandagrowingneedforspecializedskills.Althoughnewopportunitiesareemerging,particularlyin

higher-paidroles,theseareofteninaccessibletolocalcommunitiesin

developing

countries.Theimpactoncurrentemploymentalsovaries,withsomecompanies

retrainingemployees,

whileothersfacejobreductions.Thereportalsoexaminestheextenttowhichtechnologyadoptioninemergingeconomiesbringslocalbenefits,whererelianceonimportedtechnologies

might

hamperbroadereconomicgrowth.

Toaddressthesechallenges,thereportofferspolicyrecommendationsaimedatensuringthatthebenefitsoftechnologicalchangearesharedmoreequitablyacross

thesector.

11.2BackgroundandPurposeof

theStudyThelarge-scalemining(LSM)sectorisundergoingsignificantstructural

changes

drivenby

theincreasingdemandforcriticalmineralsarisingfromtheenergyanddigitaltransitions,alongsidegrowingpressurefrominvestors,consumers,andcivilsociety

formore

responsible

and

equitable

mining

practices

(IGF,2021,

2023).In

response

to

thesechallenges,technologicaladvancementsoffervaluabletoolsforminingcompaniestoimprove

theefficiencyofthesectorbothintermsofproductivityandsustainability,thoughtheyalsointroduceanewsetofchallengestonavigate,forcountries,communities,

and

mining

companiesthemselves.New

technologiesarerapidly

transformingtheLSMsector,withsignificantimplicationsforlabourmarkets,supplychains,andhostcommunities.

In2021,withthesupportoftheDeutscheGesellschaftfürInternationaleZusammenarbeit(GIZ),theIGFcompleteda2-yearresearchprojectcalledNew

Tech

NewDeal.

This

research

mappedthe

keydisruptive

technologiesthatwereexpectedtobeadoptedby

theminingsectorandassessedtheirpotentialimpacts,particularlyinmining-dependentcountries(Ramdoo,2019).

The

research

wasbasedonexpectationsandprospectivescenariosthatpolicy-makerscould

consider,

giventhelikelysocio-economicimplicationsofdisruptivetechnologies.Sincethisreportcameout,thescaleoftechnologicaladoptionhasbroadened,andthepaceofdeploymentacrossoperationshasaccelerated.

Thisnew

report

provides

examplesoftheactualimpactsofsometechnologiesonselectedminingcountries.Itcompares

actual

implicationsagainsttheassumptionsandexpectationsthatweremadeinthepreviousreport.Theresultsofthisreportdrawlessonsforgovernments,industries,andcommunitiesto

better

managerisksandopportunitiesrelatedtotheongoingtransformationintheLSMindustry.1.3CountriesandOperationsSelectionThisreportisbasedondatacollectedfroma

sample

of

six

LSM

operations

in

six

countries:

Burkina

Faso,C?ted’Ivoire,Guinea,Australia,

DRC,andSouthAfrica.

Inlinewiththe

previous

research,thecasestudieshavebeenselectedfromasetofcriteriathatconsiderdifferentlevelsofcountries’developmentaswellasthematurityoftheminingindustryinthosecountries,differenttypesofcommoditiesmined,anddifferentmethodsofproduction

(such

asundergroundoropen-pitoperations).Countrieswerechosenfromvariousgeographical

locations.Oneofthekeyselectioncriteriaforcompanieswasthewillingnessofminingcompaniestosharedata,suchastheimpactoftechnologiesonjobs.Asthisreportintendstoassessthepaceofadoptionofnew

technologiesconsideringcountries’economicdevelopment,countrieshavebeendividedintotwo

main

categories:?Advancedminingeconomiesrefertomiddle-andhigh-incomecountriesthathave

anestablishedminingsectorwithasignificantpresenceoflargeminingcompanies.

Ofthesixcountriesselected,twocountries—AustraliaandSouthAfrica—fallintothiscategory.?Emergingminingeconomies

refertoleast

developed

and

lower-middle-incomecountriesthatarenonethelessimportantandgrowingmining

jurisdictionsthathave

receivedasignificantvolumeofinvestmentintheirminingsectorsinthelastfewyears.Ofthesixcountriesselectedforthisproject,fourcountries—BurkinaFaso,C?te

d’Ivoire,Guinea,andtheDRC—fallinthiscategory.

2Evidence-BasedResearchontheImpactofNew

TechnologiesintheMining

IndustryAscopingdeskstudyhasbeenconductedtoidentify

theindividualoperationsthatwouldbe

assessed.Criteriaforsuchidentificationincludethefollowing:?

globalcriteria:?

differentcommodities:Theminingofdifferentcommoditiesrequiresdifferent

equipment,processes,andsystems.Thiswillhelptoreviewtheimpactofdifferentexistingtechnologies.?

variouscountries,

jurisdictions,languages,andcultures:Jurisdictional

distinctions(technologicalregulation,taxation,securitycontext,access

toenergy,network,developmentstage,etc.)haveastrong

impactonoperations.Thiswillhelptoshowtheimpactofnewtechnologiesamong

different

jurisdictions.?

variousminingexploitationmethods(openpit

and

underground):

Differentminingexploitationmethodsusedifferentminingequipmentandsystems.This

willhelpreviewexistingtechnologiesamongdifferentminingexploitationand

theirimpact.?

operationsownedbydifferentminingcompanies:

Miningcompanies

havedifferentvisions,strategicgoals,andoperatingphilosophies.Thiswillhelpin

reviewingexistingtechnologiesamongdifferentminingcompanies.?

keyspecificcriteria:?

largeworkforce:Thiswillallowafocusonoperationsthathavea

highersocial

riskduetothelargenumberofstafftheyemployinthecountry.?

engagementinadigitaltransformation:Thiswillhelptofocusonoperationsandkeystakeholderswithanacceptabledigitalmaturityinordertogetrelevant

informationrelatedtotheimpactoftechnologies.?

abilitytoaccessrelevantandaccuratedata:Consideringthesocialresponsibilityandcommitmentsofminingcompanies,accesstoinformationthatcouldbeconsideredsensitive,likeconsiderationsofpotential

joblossesor

reductionoflocalsourcing,iskeytosuccessfullyachievingthisstudy.?

operationinamining-dependentcountry(foremergingcountries):Technology

mayhavemoreimpactonmining-dependentcountriesduetotheminingsector’sstrongcontributiontonationalbudget,employment,andsocio-

economicdevelopments.1.4ScopeandLimitationsof

theReportThisreportfocusesexclusivelyontheimpactsofthedevelopmentofnew

technologiesinthe

LSMsectoranddoesnotaddresstheartisanalandsmall-scalemining

sector,which

isthesubject

of

a

separate

study(IGF,2024a).ThereportrepresentscasestudiesfromsixLSMoperations

insix

different

countries,managedbysixdifferentminingcompanies.Itintendstogather

insightsfromsomeoperationsinspecificcircumstancesandisnotaquantitativestudybasedon

statisticalsamples.Indeed,althoughthecountrieswereselectedtoensureglobalrepresentation,thesamplesizeisinsufficienttodrawbroadconclusionsabouttheimpactof

new

technologieson

theminingworkforceglobally.

3Evidence-BasedResearchontheImpactofNew

TechnologiesintheMining

IndustryAdditionally,limiteddataavailabilityinsomeregionspreventsthegeneralizationoffindings

acrosscountrieswithsimilarlevelsofdevelopment.Consequently,thedataanalysispresentedshouldnotbeinterpretedasa

basisforgeneralizationsapplicabletoall

mineral

-

producingcountries.Instead,thereportidentifieskey

trendsand,whereappropriate,highlightsspecific

examples

tounderscoreimportantnuancesandvariationsintheminingsector.Thisreportshouldalsobereadfromtheperspectivethatoneofthemain

challengesencounteredduringtheresearchwasthereluctanceofsomeminingcompaniestosharedatarelatedtoactualorexpectedjoblosses/workforcereductions.Suchdisclosureis

indeed

consideredhighlysensitiveandapotentialsourceofmajorsocialtensionsamongtheworkforceandinthevicinityofminingoperations.

4Evidence-BasedResearchontheImpactofNew

TechnologiesintheMining

Industry2.0OverviewofTechnological

LandscapeThetechnologiesreferredtointhisreportareasetofdifferenttypesoftechnologiesthatare

beingadoptedacrossvarioussectors,andnotallofthemarespecifictothemining

industry.

However,whencombinedwithminingequipment,theyimprovetheefficiency,safety,andoverall

impact

of

mining

operations

(IGF,2021).2.1

TaxonomyofDisruptive

TechnologiesInits

TechnologyImpacts

Review,the

IGF(Ramdoo,2019)mappedkeyemergingtechnology

trendsthatarebeingdevelopedandadoptedinLSM

operations.

Suchtechnologiescan

be

classifiedintofourbroadcategoriesasillustrated

in

Figure1:?first,usersofbigdata,

such

assmartoriginalequipment

manufacturers

(OEMs)machinesanddevicesembeddedwithtechnologiesthatusebigdatameanttoboost

theefficiencyofmineopera