Study shows 96% of some mining jobs can be automated

Frik Els | December 22, 2015 | 4:23 pm Base Metals Energy Precious Metals Coal Copper Gold Iron Ore Potash Silver Uranium 
Study shows 96% of some mining jobs can be automated

A new study by McKinsey & Company found that 45% of work activities could be automated using already demonstrated technology.

According to the research these activities represent about $2 trillion in annual wages in the US.

What’s more automation does not only affect low-skill, low-wage roles – McKinsey discovered that “even the highest-paid occupations in the economy, such as financial managers, physicians, and senior executives, including CEOs, have a significant amount of activity that can be automated.”

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5 Comments

  • rayban

    Personally , if I open a new mine anytime soon , I am going labor intensive . If wages become an issue , I am going to close or go automation intensive . I would rather have people than machines in most places , I can see how machines would be good .

    • onemansopinion

      Whether or not one automates depends mostly on whether it’s cost effective to do so. What capital is required? Are the savings enough to overcome the cost? Many automated jobs improve safety. This is a factor that should not be overlooked.

  • patentbs

    In some places automation is the way to go. High levels of radiation for example. Also some of the mind numbing tasks are well suited.
    But it is just money! Capital cost are higher and you require specialists to maintain the high value equipment. Rolled into the manpower costs are safety and long term liabilities as well. For some operations it is the way to go. For others it is less so. Just check your balance sheets folks.

  • Restless Boomers

    It’s the future, get used to it.

  • Christopher Kuntz

    I like the stats. Found the graph difficult to read in detail.

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