ibm -利用人工智能提升采矿作业安全水平 Harnessing AI to make mining safer

September2026

Mckunsey

&company

Metals&MiningPractice

HarnessingAItomakeminingsafer

AIcouldimprovebothsafetyandproductivitybyanticipatingproblemsbeforetheyarise,detectingworkerfatigueandautomatingdangeroustasks.

byHenriqueFagundes,VishalAgarwal,andYantoYanto

HarnessingAItomakeminingsafer2

Mining’sroleintheglobaleconomyispoisedtogrowbecauseitsuppliesmaterialsneededtobuilddigitalandenergyinfrastructure.Demandfor

criticalminerals

suchascopper,lithium,andnickel,thebuildingblocksofelectrification,renewables,andbatterystorage,isprojectedto

growsignificantlythrough2040,accordingtotheInternationalEnergyAgency.1

Despiteitsimportance,miningremainsoneofthemosthazardousindustriesworldwide,withwidelyvariablefatalityratesacrossregions.MembercompaniesoftheInternationalCouncilonMiningandMetalsrecorded42fatalitiesandmorethan6,400recordedworkplaceinjuriesin2024.2Eveninhighlyregulatedmarketswithstrictsafetystandards,eliminatinglost-time

injuriesandfatalitiesremainschallenging.

Theconsequencesofsafetyfailuresarefarreaching.Thehumantollofliveslostoraffectedbyinjuryisdevastatingandextendsbeyondtheinjuredworkertofamilies,coworkers,and

communities.Inaddition,incidentscarryfinancialandreputationalcostsforcompanies.Catastrophicminingaccidentscanleadtocleanupliabilitiesinthebillions,production

shutdowns,andsharepricedeclines.Reputationaldamagecanpersistforyears,erodingcommunitytrustandinvestorconfidence.

Conversely,organizationswith

strongsafetycultures

oftenbenefitfromamoreengagedandstableworkforce,betteroperationaldiscipline,andfewerdisruptionsfromincidentsand

unplanneddowntime—allofwhichsupportincreasedproductivity.

Overthepast15years,technologyimprovementshaveledtodeclinesinmininginjuries,thoughthedeclinesinfatalitieshaverecentlystalled.Inthisarticle,weexamineopportunitiesforminingcompaniestoapplyagenticAItoolsasapotentialadditionalinitiativetoimproveproductivity

andsafety.

Whathasheldbackminingsafetytransformation?

Miningremainsoneofthemosthazardousindustries,withfatalityratesthatexceedthoseintransportation,construction,andmanufacturing(Exhibit1).

IntheUnitedStates,theMineSafetyandHealthAdministrationreportedafatalinjuryrateoftento15deathsper100,000workers.Thisratehasplateauedinthepastfiveyearsafter

decadesofimprovement.3

Meaningfulsafetytransformationremainsunevenacrosstheminingsector.Severalstructuralbarrierscontinuetoimpedeprogress:

—Organizationalfragmentationandunclearaccountabilitypersist.Recurringgapsexistbetweencorporatesafetyframeworksandsite-levelexecution.

1Globalcriticalmineralsoutlook2024,IEA,May17,2024.

2Safetyperformance:BenchmarkingprogressofICMMcompanymembersin2024,ICMM,July10,2025.

3BasedonMineSafetyandHealthAdministrationdata.

HarnessingAItomakeminingsafer3

—Operatorsmaybeanchoredinacompliance-drivenandlagging-indicatormindset.Evenincountrieswithextensiveregulations,operatorsmaybefocusedonpreparingforauditsandmanagingdocumentationinsteadofproactivelyidentifyingandmitigatinghazards.

—Datasilosandlegacyinfrastructuremayunderminetheimpactofdigitalinvestments.In

somecases,datafrom

advancedsensors

installedtomonitorslopestabilityandequipmenthealthisnotintegratedintocompany-widesafetydashboardsthatcouldallowsafety

expertstoseecompoundedriskfactors.

—Theglobalpushtoscaleproductionofcriticalmineralshascreatedcapabilityand

contractormanagementgaps,particularlyinemergingmarkets.Rapidworkforcegrowthandincreasedrelianceoncontractorsinsomeregionshaveintroducedvariabilityinsafetystandardsandsupervision,includinginconsistenttraining,inadequatemanagementof

workerfatigue,andlimitedfrontlineoversight.

—Thecultureandchangemanagementrequiredtoembednewtechnologiesissubstantial.

Pilotprogramsinautonomoushaulage,fatiguemonitoring,andAI-enabledhazarddetectionhaveshownsafetybenefits,butminingdigitaltransformationstypicallyrequiresustained

leadershipalignment,frontlineadoption,workforceupskilling,andchangemanagementtoscalebeyondpilotsanddeliverdurableimpact.

Automationandremotemonitoringarepartoftheriseofintelligentsafety

Theseobstaclespersistagainstabackdropoftechnologicalchangesthathavemadesafety

inroads.Beginninginabout2010,automation(includingautonomoustrucksandother

equipment)andremotemonitoringbegantospreadthroughouttheindustry.Companies

acceleratedtheiruseofthesetechnologiesovertime,withincreaseddeploymentof

autonomoushaulageandequipmentincorporatingInternetofThings(IoT)technologyinrecentyears,withhumanoversightinorontheloop(Exhibit2).

Thesetechnologicalsolutionsmayofferadditionalsafetyimprovementsacrossfourcomplementarylevers:

—Tocontrolhazards,autonomousdronesmapandinspectundergroundshafts,tailingsdams,andblastingzonesinrealtime,allowinghumanstomonitorfromasafedistance.IoT-

enabledsensorsembeddedinvehicles,ventilationsystems,conveyorbelts,crushers,and

otherequipmentcontinuouslymonitoraircomposition,groundstability,andequipment

health.Connected

throughedgecomputing

and5Gnetworks,thesesystemsprovideinstantanalyticsandpredictivemaintenanceinformationtotrainedoperators,allowingthemto

makedecisionsthatsystematicallyreducethelikelihoodofcatastrophicfailure.

HarnessingAItomakeminingsafer4

—Toimprovehealth,safety,andenvironmentalconditions,trainedoperatorsincentralized

controlroomsaggregateliveoperationaldataintoacontinuoussafetydashboardthatcan

strengthenoversight,standardizegovernance,andaccelerateresponsestoirregularities.

Meanwhile,autonomoustrucksandremote-monitoringcenterscanreducehumanexposuretoriskysituations,andsensor-drivenpredictiveanalyticscanreducemaintenance-related

incidents.

—Tochangebehaviors,smartwatchesordashcameras,usedwithappropriateemployeeconsentandprivacyguardrailsinplace,canallowreal-timemonitoringofworkerfatigue,PPE(personalprotectiveequipment)compliance,andproximityinteractionsthatprovideimmediatefeedbacktosupervisorsandoperators,reinforcingsafeoperatingdisciplinebeforeunsafeactsescalate.

—Toeducateandtrain,

digitaltwins

replicateentiremines,allowingoperatorstosimulatestressscenarios,maintenanceschedules,andsafetydrillsinavirtualenvironmentbeforeimplementingchangeson-site.

SafetytransformationscouldberedefinedbyAI

GenerativeAIandagenticAIsystemsenhanceandmayevenredefinetheselevers.GenAI

copilotsincontrolcenterssummarizesafetydata,identifyrootcausesofnearmisses,anddraftincidentreportsinseconds.Althoughhumaninterventionandmonitoringisalwaysrequired,

agenticAIsystems

thatcanactautonomouslywithinpredefinedsafetyparametersarebeginningtoorchestratepreventiveresponses,fromadjustingventilationtoreroutingautonomousvehiclesaroundunstableground.

Minersareexperimentingwithlargelanguagemodel(LLM)–basedhazardandincidentanalyticsthatcananalyzethousandsofhazardreports,near-missnarratives,andinvestigationsummariestoidentifyrecurringprecursors(suchasdisablingoroverridingalarmsorcontractorinterface

breakdowns)andproposetargetedmonitoringquestionsforfuturesupervisorsthatcouldavoidincidents.

Theseapproacheshavethepotentialtoremovethestructuralbarriersdescribedabove,asillustratedbythefollowingexamples:

—AIforhazardidentificationandcross-companycoordination.Gen-AI-stylefoundation

modelsarebeginningtoreshapefrontlinesafetymanagement,inconjunctionwithhuman

oversight.RatherthandeployingisolatedAItools,onecompanyimplementedadomain-

trainedlargeAImodeldesignedtosupportmultiplesafetyandoperationalapplications

acrossitscoaloperations.Themodelintegratesvideofeeds,sensordata,andtext-based

reportstodetecthazardousbehaviors(suchaspersonnelenteringrestrictedzones),identifyabnormalconditions,andenhancecentralizedremoteoversightofunderground

HarnessingAItomakeminingsafer5

activities—allwithhighaccuracy—deliveredtotrainedsupervisors.

—AIforbehavioralchangeandproactivesafetymanagement.Anoperatorofbulk

transshipmentservicesequippeditsvesselswithanAI-enabledvideoanalyticsplatformthatcontinuouslymonitorsexistingCCTVfeedstoidentifydeviationsfromstandardoperating

conditions,suchascrewenteringrestrictedzones,slipsorfallsondeck,orsmokeappearingintheengineroom.Thesealertsareroutedtotrainedsafetyanalystswhoverifywhatthe

analyticshasflagged,checkitagainstotheroperationaldata,andrapidlyinformtherelevantcaptainwithpreciseinstructions,ifneeded,toactbeforeaminorhazardescalates.Onceaneventisclosed,anAIagentgeneratesastructuredincidentreportthatincludesrootcausesoftheincidentandactionablelessonslearned.Finally,asafetyspecialistevaluateswhethertherecommendationsshouldbeconsideredforimplementationacrossthefleet.

—AIforbettercontractorsafetymanagement.MiningcompaniesarebeginningtouseAIanddigitaltoolstostrengthencontractorsafetymanagement,particularlyinhigh-riskactivitieswherecontractorexecution,sitecontrols,andreal-timemonitoringarecritical.Oneglobalminingcompany’sAI-backedcontractormanagementframeworkbetterintegrates

contractorsandthirdpartiesintoitssystems,processes,andperformancemanagementroutines.

Companiescanbuildthefutureofminingsafetynow

TounlockthefullpotentialofdigitalandAI-drivensafety,leadingminingcompaniestreatsafetyasacoreenterprisepriority,explicitlylinkedtoproductivity;environmental,social,and

governance(ESG)performance;andlong-termresilience.Theytranslatetheirgoalsintoanintegrated,multiyearroadmap,underpinnedbystrong

datagovernance

andcybersecuritystandardsthatbuildthereliabilityandtrustrequiredtoscaleacrosssitesandfunctions.Inbuildingaroadmap,severalfactorsareimportantforsuccess:

—Solutionsatscale.Leadersfocusonstandardizingplatformsandarchitectures,adopting

“designonce,deploymany”approachesthatallowprovensolutionstobereplicatedacrossoperationswithinteroperabilityacrosssites,assets,andvendors.

—Workforceandculturetransformation.Miningcompaniesinvestintrainingprogramsthatteach

dataandAIliteracy

tothosewithdeepfieldexperience,enablingsupervisorsand

frontlineworkerstointerpretAIinsights,exerciseinformedjudgment,andintervenebeforeincidentsoccur.Immersivetrainingapproaches,includingaugmentedrealityandmobile

learning,helpworkerspracticehigh-riskscenariosincontrolledenvironments,strengtheningaproactivesafetyculture.

—Strongdataandgovernancefoundations.Leadingorganizationsinvestearlyinestablishingcleardataownership,commonstandards,androbustdatapipelinesthatspanoperational,

HarnessingAItomakeminingsafer6

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