Underground Mining Machine Operators, All Other

However, many hands-on tasks remain manual. We found few examples of robots replacing a person who changes drill bits, greases machines, or places roof supports. Those jobs need strength, flexibility and on-the-spot thinking hard to engineer.

In fact, experts note fully remote underground mining is not yet realistic – wireless and GPS signals don’t reach well underground – so humans must still work nearby to solve problems and keep machines running ^[1]. In short, AI and automation are supporting operations (through sensors, cameras, and preventive software ^{[1] [1]}), but tasks like tool replacement and roof bolting are still done by people.

Because of these hurdles, adoption is gradual. In practice, miners see new tech as tools: machines stay the same but their controls change (for example, an operator in a shelter might remote-control a drill instead of riding it) ^[2]. Over time, miners expect to shift into supervisor or analyst roles.

In fact, one review notes that humans are still on site to oversee automated machines ^[1]. So far, AI helps with monitoring and routine jobs, while skilled workers focus on tricky decisions (like judging rock stability or fixing breakdowns). This means miners’ real-world experience and judgment remain important.

In summary, adopting AI in underground mining is happening carefully: it brings big safety and efficiency gains ^{[1] [1]}, but cost, communication limits, and trust slow it down. Most experts are hopeful that humans and machines will team up, with people using new tech rather than being replaced.