Mining Automation Market Size, Share, Trends, Growth by Equipment (Autonomous Hauling/Mining Trucks, Autonomous Drilling Rigs, Underground LHD Loaders, Tunneling Equipment, Smart Ventilation Systems), Technique (Underground, Surface), Workflow, Region - Global Forecast to 2029
Updated on : September 25, 2024
Mining Automation Market Size & Growth
[262 Pages Report] The global mining automation market size is expected to grow from USD 3.6 billion in 2024 to USD 5.1 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2024 to 2029. Significant potential opportunities are presented by the introduction of smart connected mines, which are being propelled by the digital transformation of the global mining industry. Benefits from mining automation include increased worker safety and improved uptime. For instance, mining supervisors can collect, monitor, and analyze large amounts of data from staff and equipment using remote operating systems and fleet management. This helps them make well-informed decisions. Consequently, this allows mining businesses to streamline their operations and cut expenses.
Mining Automation Market Size and Forecast to 2029
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Mining Automation Market Trends
DRIVERS: Rising demand for fleet management systems
The market for connected mining fleet management is experiencing growth driven by rising demand for resources and minerals due to population growth and industrialization. Mining operations are expanding to meet this demand, with connected fleet management solutions playing a crucial role. These solutions help mining firms reduce expenses, enhance planning and decision-making, and improve operational efficiency. The market's growth is further fueled by technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), automation, and machine learning, which enable real-time data collection and transmission. These advancements contribute to increased mining equipment performance, allowing for higher output with reduced resource consumption and improved safety. Overall, the mining fleet management system market is evolving to leverage the potential benefits of automation and machine learning in various operational aspects.
RESTRAINTS: Rise in the exhaustion of natural resources
The depletion of natural resources through mining poses considerable apprehension, giving rise to environmental degradation and the destruction of habitats. The release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is a consequence of mining activities, which results in the disruption of biomes and erosion. These processes contribute to enduring ecological harm, emphasizing the critical need for sustainable mining practices to mitigate environmental impact and preserve ecosystems. Further, the overexploitation of natural resources has resulted in the exaction of lower ore grades. Moreover, the decreasing volume of resources has raised serious concerns among mining companies.
OPPORTUNITIES: Rising adoption of digitalization in the global mining industry
In recent years, in order to increase productivity and safety in mining activities, the adoption of digitization can be seen growing. Through digitization, mining companies are focused on three key aspects. First, implementing digital technologies enables the use of autonomous vehicles and equipment, such as autonomous haul trucks and tunneling equipment, in the mining industry. In both surface and underground mines, using unmanned autonomous vehicles in remote operations reduces operator risk and allows for process optimization. Secondly, digitization in mines helps stimulate a digitally enabled workplace by integrating connected equipment with advanced tracking and monitoring solutions. This allows effective remote control of operations. Finally, digitization triggers the application of smart algorithms and AI to analyze the massive amount of data generated from connected equipment and deliver actionable insights to mine supervisors or operators to make informed decisions, thereby improving productivity and increasing equipment uptime.
CHALLENGES: Absence of skilled workforce to operate automated mining equipment
The mining automation industry faces a significant challenge due to the need for a more skilled workforce to operate automated mining equipment. The mining automation technology can improve productivity, safety, and efficiency. Still, it poses some challenges for the mining industry, such as requiring high initial investment and maintenance costs for the equipment and infrastructure, facing technical and operational risks, demanding new skills and competencies for the workforce, and impacting social and ethical aspects. Further, the increasing use of automation in the mining industry creates a skill gap in the present labor pool. Since automation is expected to replace the job of mine workers with automated equipment in the coming years, it also creates new job opportunities requiring a particular set of skills.
The Mining Automation Market Ecosystem
Prominent companies in this market include well-established, financially stable manufacturers such as Caterpillar (US), Komatsu Ltd. (Japan), Sandvik AB (Sweden), Epiroc AB (Sweden) and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (Japan). These companies have been operating in the market for several years and possess a diversified product portfolio and strong global sales and marketing networks. Along with the well-established companies, there are a large number of small and medium companies operating in this market, such as Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (US), MST (Australia), Symboticware Inc. (Canada), and Micromine (Australia), among others.
Mining Automation Market Share
Software segment is expected to grow with significant CAGR during the forecast period.
Mining firms face challenges due to several issues, including reduced tonnage per shift, growing inhospitality of mines, and rising operation expenses as mining operations become more complicated. Companies are using software solutions like workforce management and fleet management systems more frequently to address these problems and enable better decision-making based on real-time data tracking and analysis. The software segment market has been further divided into fleet management, workforce management, data management, air quality and temperature monitoring, remote operating and monitoring, proximity detection and collision avoidance, and other markets (payload monitoring and asset tracking).
Mining Automation Market Regional Analysis
The market in Asia Pacific is projected to hold the substantial market share from 2024 to 2029.
Mining Automation Market by Region
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The mining automation market share in Asia Pacific has been studied for Australia, China, India, and the Rest of Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific is host to vast natural resources that are dispersed among the countries that are part of it. According to estimations, Asia Pacific will surpass other regions as the world's most extensive mining automation technology and equipment market. The usage of automated mining equipment by significant exploration and mining corporations such as Rio Tinto (UK), FMG (Australia) Group, and BHP Billiton (Australia) is the cause of this development. Additionally, several mining corporations in Australia's Western area already utilize automated mining equipment at their mine sites. Further, mining corporations worldwide have made significant investments due to the growing digitization of mines and the globalization of economies.
Australia’s mineral resources have been essential in building and developing its economy. The Australian mining sector possesses significant geological information about the region, advanced exploration techniques, efficient mining and processing technologies, a skilled workforce, and low population density. Such critical factors have helped the Australian mining ecosystem to grow at a significant rate.
Top Mining Automation Companies - Key Market Players:
- Caterpillar (US),
- Komatsu Ltd. (Japan),
- Sandvik AB (Sweden),
- Epiroc AB (Sweden), and
- Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (Japan) are among a few top players in the mining automation companies.
Mining Automation Market Report Scope :
Report Metric |
Details |
Estimated Market Size | USD 3.6 billion in 2024 |
Projected Market Size | USD 5.1 billion by 2029 |
Growth Rate | CAGR of 7.2% |
Mining Automation Market Size Available for Years |
2020–2029 |
Base Year |
2023 |
Forecast Period |
2024–2029 |
Units |
Value (USD Million/Billion) |
Segments Covered |
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Geographic Regions Covered |
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Companies Covered |
Major Players: Caterpillar (US), Komatsu Ltd. (Japan), Sandvik AB (Sweden), Epiroc AB (Sweden), Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (Japan), Hexagon AB (Sweden), RPMGLOBAL HOLDINGS LIMITED (Australia), Trimble Inc. (US), Rockwell Automation (US), Siemens (Germany) and Others - (Total 25 players have been covered) |
Mining Automation Market Size Highlights
This research report categorizes the mining automation market size by offering, Trends, technique, and workflow.
Segment |
Subsegment |
By Offering: |
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By Technique: |
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By Workflow: |
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By Region |
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Recent Developments in Mining Automation Industry:
- In November 2023, Sandvik has secured a substantial order for underground mining equipment from Jimond Mining Management Company (JMMC), a subsidiary of the Chinese mining services provider JCHX Mining Management Co., Ltd. The equipment is slated for use in the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- In October 2023, Epiroc AB received a contract from one of the largest underground mining Australian contractors, Byrnecut. The contractor has placed an order for a fleet of Minetruck MT65 S haulers. These vehicles are designated for use at the Kathleen Valley mine in Western Australia.
- In May 2023, Caterpillar released a new dozer demonstrating enhanced fuel efficiency, heightened productivity, and increased uptime. With a stator clutch torque converter and load-sensing hydraulics, the updated design boasts up to a 6% improvement in efficiency compared to the previous versions.
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs):
What is the total CAGR expected to be recorded for the mining automation market during 2024-2029?
The global mining automation market size is expected to record a CAGR of 7.2% from 2024–2029.
What are the driving factors for the mining automation market?
The need to increase safety and productivity in the mines and the growing emphasis on reducing operating costs are some of the driving factors for the mining automation market.
Which offering will grow at a fast rate in the future?
Communication systems offering is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.
Which are the significant players operating in the mining automation market?
Caterpillar (US), Komatsu Ltd. (Japan), Sandvik AB (Sweden), Epiroc AB (Sweden), and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (Japan) are among a few top players in the mining automation market.
Which region will grow at a fast rate in the future?
The mining automation market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.
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The study involved four major activities in estimating the current size of the mining automation market. Exhaustive secondary research has been done to collect information on the market, peer, and parent markets. The next step has been to validate these findings and assumptions and size them with industry experts across the value chain through primary research. Both top-down and bottom-up approaches have been employed to estimate the total market size. After that, market breakdown and data triangulation methods were used to estimate the market size of segments and subsegments. Two sources of information—secondary and primary—have been used to identify and collect information for an extensive technical and commercial study of the mining automation market size.
Secondary Research
Secondary sources include company websites, magazines, industry news, associations, and databases (Factiva and Bloomberg). These secondary sources include annual reports, press releases, investor presentations of companies, white papers, certified publications, articles by recognized authors, regulatory bodies, trade directories, and databases.
Primary Research
Primary sources mainly consist of several experts from the core and related industries, along with preferred mining automation solution providers, distributors, alliances, standards, and certification organizations related to various segments of this industry’s value chain.
In the primary research process, various primary sources from both the supply and demand sides were interviewed to obtain qualitative and quantitative information on the market. The primary sources from the supply side included various industry experts such as Chief Experience Officers (CXOs), Vice Presidents (VPs), and Directors from business development, marketing, product development/innovation teams, and related key executives from mining automation system providers, such as Caterpillar (US), Komatsu Ltd. (Japan), Sandvik AB (Sweden), Epiroc AB (Sweden) and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (Japan); research organizations, distributors, industry associations, and key opinion leaders. Following is the breakdown of primary respondents.
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Mining Automation Market Size Estimation
Both top-down and bottom-up approaches have been used to estimate and validate the total size of the mining automation market. These methods have also been used extensively to estimate the size of various subsegments in the market. The following research methodology has been used to estimate the market size:
- Major players in the industry and markets have been identified through extensive secondary research.
- The industry’s value chain and market size (in terms of value) have been determined through primary and secondary research processes.
- All percentage shares, splits, and breakdowns have been determined using secondary sources and verified through primary sources.
Top-Down Approach
In the top-down approach, the overall market size has been used to estimate the size of the individual market segments (mentioned in market segmentation) through percentage splits from secondary and primary research. For specific market segments, the size of the most appropriate immediate parent market has been used to implement the top-down approach. The bottom-up approach has also been implemented for data obtained from secondary research to validate the market size of various segments.
Mining Automation Market : Top-Down Approach
Bottom-Up Approach
The bottom-up approach has been used to arrive at the overall size of the mining automation market from the revenues of the key players and their market shares. Calculations based on revenues of key companies identified in the market led to the estimation of their overall market size.
Mining Automation Market: Top-down Approach
Data Triangulation
After arriving at the overall market size from the estimation process explained above, the market has been split into several segments and subsegments. The market breakdown and data triangulation procedures have been employed, wherever applicable, to complete the overall market engineering process and arrive at the exact statistics for all segments and subsegments. The data has been triangulated by studying various factors and trends from both the demand and supply sides. The market has also been validated using both top-down and bottom-up approaches.
Market Definition
Mining automation involves reducing or eliminating human involvement in mining tasks. This includes exploration, drilling, excavation, loading, hauling, and dumping. The process employs automated mining equipment like autonomous haulage trucks and drilling rigs, communication systems, other hardware components, and dedicated software such as autonomous haulage systems and collision detection systems.
Key Stakeholders
- Government bodies, venture capitalists, and private equity firms
- Manufacturers of mining automation equipment
- Distributors of mining automation equipment and software
- Mining automation industry associations
- Professional service/solution providers
- Research institutions and organizations
- Standards organizations and regulatory authorities related to the mining automation market size
- System integrators
- Technology consultants
Report Objectives
- To define and forecast the mining automation market size regarding offering, technique, and workflow.
- To describe and forecast the mining automation market size and its value segments for four regions—North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World (RoW), along with their respective countries.
- To provide detailed information regarding the drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges influencing the growth of the market
- To strategically analyze micro-markets concerning individual growth trends, prospects, and contributions to the overall market
- To study the complete value chain of the mining automation market growth
- To analyze opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying high-growth segments of the market
- To strategically profile key players and comprehensively analyze their market position regarding ranking and core competencies, along with a detailed market competitive landscape.
- To analyze strategic approaches such as agreements, collaborations, and partnerships in the mining automation market
- To provide an analysis of the recession impact on the growth of the market and its segments
Available Customizations:
Based on the given market data, MarketsandMarkets offers customizations in the reports according to the client’s specific requirements. The available customization options are as follows:
Company Information
- Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to 5)
Growth opportunities and latent adjacency in Mining Automation Market