Epiroc is expanding a global network of Surface Mining Automation Centers, creating dedicated innovation hubs where customers can test and deploy autonomous drilling and blasting solutions such as Pit Viper and SmartROC rigs. These centres provide remote operation rooms, high-bandwidth telemetry links and digital twins to trial multi-rig control, collision avoidance and integration with fleet management systems under controlled conditions. For mine operators, the set-up lowers on-site commissioning risk and accelerates roll-out of autonomy on large open pits with complex bench layouts and variable geotechnical conditions.

Water scarcity is pushing Australian mines to treat water as a strategic risk, driving adoption of containerised reverse osmosis (RO) plants, advanced dewatering, and closed-loop process water circuits to cut freshwater intake. Operators are reconfiguring pit dewatering, tailings return flows and high-salinity groundwater use to cope with climate variability, tighter discharge licences and competition from agriculture and communities. For geotechnical and processing teams, this means designing pits, TSFs and pipelines around variable-quality water, higher salinity corrosion loads and more complex water balances.

New South Wales has launched an Australian-first Critical Minerals Skills Plan at IMARC in Sydney to build a pipeline of workers for future mining and processing of commodities such as rare earths, lithium and high‑purity alumina. The plan targets skills growth across geoscience, minerals processing, engineering, trades and environmental disciplines, with a focus on both upstream extraction and downstream refining. For operators and contractors, it signals stronger demand for specialised process engineers, mine geologists and technicians able to work in complex, multi-commodity flowsheets.