According to Titrsanat, one of the solutions to enhance productivity in the mining sector is the use of artificial intelligence and digitalization, aimed at addressing the challenges of this sector, which plays a significant role in achieving the mining industry’s 13% share in the Seventh Development Plan.

Today, around the world, miners and investors, in order to maximize the utilization of mining capacities, have moved toward the adoption of various modern technologies and innovations, to the extent that technology and artificial intelligence have replaced the use of traditional tools, old methods, and even human intervention.

Today, worldwide, the use of technologies has increased to such an extent that with lower costs and higher efficiency, the value-added share of mines and civil industries can be enhanced.

Smart mining not only enables the processing of geological data, remote sensing data, the identification of rocks and soils, and the prediction of suitable exploration sites, but also allows for the analysis of remote sensing data, geophysical maps, geochemical maps, geological maps, aerial photographs, and satellite images without the need for human intervention. Moreover, it facilitates energy consumption control as well as the management of unmanned transportation fleets.

Utilizing Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Productivity in the Industry and Mining Sector

The Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade has recently emphasized in a statement the necessity of participation by knowledge-based and technology companies in the field of smart mining. Through a public call, it has invited companies active in

The announcement stated: In line with leveraging the capabilities of technology and knowledge-based companies active in the fields of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain, and big data, and with the goal of enhancing productivity and addressing the main issues and challenges of the industry and mining sector, the “Deputy for Planning and Business Environment Development of the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade,” in cooperation with the “Vice-Presidency for Science, Technology, and Knowledge-Based Economy,” under the allocated resources of the 2024 and 2025 national budget law, through the “Fund for Supporting Research and Development of Advanced Industries” as the operating body, along with other resources available to these three entities (including R&D tax credits from the Production Leap Law), has launched a major call for proposals under ten transformative RFPs for the industry and mining sector, totaling one hundred trillion rials (1,000 billion tomans).

Strategic Digital Transformation Document for Mines

The Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) has defined the Strategic Digital Transformation Document for Mines with a vision toward 2030 for Iran’s mining sector. This document emphasizes achieving the highest level of safety and enhancing productivity, highlighting key roles in agility and flexibility in digitalization, process optimization and productivity, innovation and technological leadership, knowledge-based development and human capital growth, transparency through data-driven approaches, and cybersecurity.

According to this document, the full digitalization of all mines would lead to a 25% reduction in costs and a 20% increase in mining productivity.

Emphasis on the Use of Technology by the Iranian Mining House

The Iranian Mining House is another authority in the country’s mining sector that has entered the field as a cooperative arm of the state-run mining sector. Mohammadreza Bahraman, the head of the Iranian Mining House, emphasizing the use of the capacities of knowledge-based and technology companies in enhancing mining productivity, stated: Providing the infrastructure for smart mining is one of the most important issues that has been neglected.

He emphasized: The entry of knowledge-based companies into the mining sector must be facilitated so that, with their participation, the utilization of new technologies and innovations can contribute to increasing productivity and reducing costs in mines.

The head of the Iranian Mining House stated: Mines in our country hold high added value, and Iran is among the prominent countries in the mining sector. All capacities of the mining sector must be utilized, since by enhancing mining productivity, the mineral industries’ value chain can also be completed, and in the long term, mineral products can replace oil exports.

Stating that there is still a gap to achieving 13% growth in the mining sector, he said: In the Seventh Development Plan, this issue has been addressed, and it will be achieved through the entry of knowledge-based companies, facilitation of foreign and domestic investments, and the creation of a financial network for international companies’ transactions under sanction conditions.

Bahraman emphasized the removal of obstacles in the mining sector and added: The government must play a regulatory and facilitative role and create the conditions for removing obstacles so that the mining sector can achieve its true position in the economy.