Russia Showcases AI-Powered Mining Technologies That Cut Costs and Boost Efficiency
Researchers at MIPT’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence have developed digital tools that optimize everything from blasting to ore processing — and save companies millions.
At the MINEX Russia 2025 international mining forum, scientists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) presented a suite of AI-driven solutions for the mining industry aimed at digitally transforming core production processes. The technologies — already being tested by major industrial companies in Russia and abroad — are designed to make extraction safer, cheaper, and more predictable.
Three Systems Changing the Industry
Among the institute’s leading innovations are three practical tools already demonstrating measurable economic impact.
The first is a digital twin of a gold-extraction plant that creates a virtual model of real operations. It allows engineers to simulate workflows, test new production scenarios, and forecast outcomes before launching equipment, minimizing risk and downtime.
The second, Smart Mill, uses AI to automatically manage ore-grinding mills. The system has reduced one company’s operational costs by more than 130 million rubles (about $1.4 million) annually, thanks to smarter energy use and lower equipment wear.
The third solution, BlastNet, applies machine learning to optimize blasting operations — one of mining’s most dangerous and costly stages. By fine-tuning explosive parameters, it improves rock fragmentation, boosts safety, and cuts material waste.
Building Digital Supply Chains
According to MIPT’s geomineralogy program lead Dania Kireeva, these technologies integrate previously isolated datasets into a single, adaptive system. By connecting stages “from ore extraction to the finished product,” she said, companies can adopt modern, data-driven management models.
Together, these AI-powered mining tools promise not only to increase production efficiency and reduce expenses, but also to lower environmental impact — a key step toward sustainable resource extraction in Russia’s heavy industries.
