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    Innovation slump in mining productivity: McKinsey takeaways for project teams

    December 12, 2025|

    Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

    Innovation slump in mining productivity: McKinsey takeaways for project teams

    First reported on MINING.com

    30 Second Briefing

    Mining productivity has halved since 1997 and has risen only about 1% per year since 2018, even as OECD data show manufacturing output per worker more than doubling and agriculture, forestry and fishing increasing 1.5 times. McKinsey’s “Performing under pressure” report links the slump to deeper pits, longer haul distances, declining grades and remote conditions that push operations below historic performance curves. The firm points to AI, robotics, advanced chemistry, always‑on connectivity and electrification as levers to unlock bottlenecks in loading, hauling, comminution and processing, provided miners build tight feedback loops between strategy and execution.

    Technical Brief

    • The report explicitly targets bottlenecks in loading, hauling, comminution and processing rather than generic digitalisation.
    • Always‑on connectivity at remote sites is flagged as a prerequisite for deploying AI, automation and robotics at scale.
    • Advanced chemistry is cited as a lever, implying scope for new reagents, leach systems and separation routes.
    • Electrification is framed as a core enabler, affecting fleet selection, mine power systems and ventilation design.
    • McKinsey stresses “North Star” targets derived from process physics, not incremental KPIs, to steer innovation portfolios.
    • Clear, accountable leadership structures are recommended to close feedback loops between aspiration, pilots and plant‑wide rollout.

    Our Take

    In our database of 265 Mining stories, copper and other critical minerals feature heavily in project build-outs, yet very few pieces focus on systematic productivity gains, suggesting operators are prioritising capacity over efficiency in the current price environment.

    The comparison with manufacturing and agriculture productivity since 1997 implies that miners in regions like Africa, South America and Australia may need to lean harder on process automation and data integration to stay competitive against other resource-intensive sectors that have already captured larger efficiency gains.

    Recent coverage of US scrutiny of Chinese-linked critical mineral ventures, such as the Ivanhoe Atlantic item involving copper and other critical minerals, signals that geopolitical constraints may further complicate the kind of cross-border technology transfer and capital flows that typically underpin step-change productivity improvements in mining.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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