A sector under pressure
South Africa’s mining sector is both a legacy and a lifeline. It has powered the economy for over a century, but it also carries reputational baggage: labour disputes, environmental impact, and ongoing safety concerns. With margins squeezed by rising costs and global competition, mines are under pressure to extract more resources, more safely, and at lower cost.
Much of that answer lies in technology. Smart mining, underpinned by digital twins, advanced sensors, and automation, is transforming the way mines operate. Once conservative in its approach to technology adoption, mining is fast becoming a testbed for innovation in artificial intelligence, the industrial Internet of Things, robotics, and data-driven decision-making.
As margins tighten and safety demands rise, digital twins, sensors, and automation are reshaping how South African mines operate underground and above it.
What is smart mining?
Smart mining refers to the application of digital technologies to improve productivity, safety, and environmental performance across the mining value chain.
Key enablers include:
- Digital twins, which create virtual models of mines, shafts, or equipment to simulate real-world performance
- Sensors and IIoT, embedded in machinery, conveyors, and wearables to feed live data to control centres
- Automation and robotics, ranging from autonomous haul trucks to robotic drilling rigs and drones
- Predictive analytics, using algorithms to forecast maintenance needs, optimise energy use, and identify geotechnical risk
According to PwC South Africa, smart mining plays a central role in building a more sustainable and transparent mining environment, one that is better equipped to meet long-term economic and social expectations.
Digital twins: the virtual mine
Digital twins are among the most powerful tools in the smart mining toolkit. By creating dynamic digital replicas of physical assets, operators can predict equipment failures before breakdowns occur, test different planning scenarios in a safe virtual environment, and improve training without exposing workers to risk.
In underground environments, where real-time visibility is limited, digital twins provide decision-makers with a clearer picture of what is happening below the surface. Bosch Rexroth Africa notes that integrating equipment sensors, geological models, and operational data allows digital twins to support better airflow design, safer layouts, and improved productivity across entire mining operations.
Sensors and wearables: the connected worker
Mining has long been associated with risk, from rockfalls and gas leaks to fatigue and equipment collisions. Sensors are now changing how those risks are managed.
Environmental sensors can detect gas build-up, temperature changes, or seismic activity before conditions become dangerous. Machine health sensors monitor vibration, oil quality, and load stress, enabling predictive maintenance. Wearable devices allow miners to carry smart tags or helmets that track location, heart rate, and fatigue underground.
These systems reduce fatalities while improving efficiency. If sensors detect conveyor misalignment or abnormal vibration, maintenance teams can intervene immediately, preventing lost production and more serious failures.
Automation and robotics at the coalface
From autonomous trucks on open-pit sites to drones mapping underground stopes, robotics and automation are reshaping mining operations.
Autonomous haul trucks can operate continuously with fewer accidents. Robotic drilling rigs improve precision and reduce wasted energy. Drones equipped with LiDAR or thermal cameras allow rapid inspection of shafts, slopes, and tailings dams without placing people in hazardous areas.
Automation changes the role of humans in mining, shifting workers into supervisory, analytical, and maintenance functions. Fewer people are required in high-risk zones, while overall control and situational awareness improve.
Predictive analytics: mining the data
Every connected sensor and autonomous machine generates data. When analysed effectively, this information becomes a valuable operational resource.
Predictive analytics allows mines to forecast equipment failures, optimise energy usage, and detect geological stress before collapse occurs. The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy reports that mines using predictive analytics have achieved meaningful reductions in downtime and energy costs, alongside measurable safety improvements.
Engineering challenges
Despite its promise, smart mining is not plug-and-play. Engineers face practical challenges, including maintaining reliable connectivity underground, integrating digital systems with decades-old equipment, and managing cybersecurity risks as operational and information technologies converge.
Equally important is change management. Workforce acceptance and training are essential. Technology alone cannot improve safety culture without skilled people who understand and trust the systems they use.
The South African context
South Africa remains one of the world’s major mining producers, supplying gold, platinum, coal, and critical minerals. The sector faces a dual imperative: remain cost-competitive while improving environmental performance and safety outcomes.
Local initiatives reflect this shift. PwC South Africa highlights digital transformation as a driver of sustainability and efficiency. Bosch Rexroth Africa is supporting mines with integrated hydraulic, control, and digital systems. SAIMM continues to bring engineers, academics, and industry leaders together to debate how smart mining fits into a broader smart society.
In this environment, smart mining has become a matter of survival.
Opportunities ahead
The next phase of smart mining is already taking shape. Fully integrated mine-wide digital twins will combine geological, energy, ventilation, and safety data. AI-driven decision support systems will increasingly guide operational strategy, not just maintenance. Smart mining technologies will also link more closely with renewable energy, water management, and circular economy initiatives.
South African engineers are well positioned to lead this transition, particularly those with cross-disciplinary skills in data science, mechatronics, and systems integration.
A smarter, safer future
Mining is an industry where seconds can save lives, and small operational gains can make a real difference to profitability. By combining digital twins, sensors, automation, and predictive analytics, smart mining offers a practical path to improving both safety and productivity.
In South Africa, smart mining is about giving people better tools, better data, and safer ways to work. In an era of global competition and growing environmental scrutiny, mines that invest early and thoughtfully in digital transformation will be better placed to endure.
