Characteristics and prospects of the new technology era in mining industry

As one of the oldest industries in human history, mining has always played a crucial role in supporting economic and social development. With the rapid development of science and technology, the mining industry is undergoing a profound transformation which is centered on new technologies. Firstly, this paper will start by examining the basic characteristics of the mining industry, analyzing its economic attributes, cyclical nature, and oligopolistic features. The supply and demand game of mineral products is the most fundamental characteristic of the mining industry. The mining market presents periodic changes along with economic and political factors, and mining oligarchs often occupy a monopoly position in critical mineral fields. Subsequently, this paper focuses on two important characteristics of mining in the process of development of science and technology: cornerstone characteristics and new technology attributes. The development of bulk raw material minerals has supported the transformation of human civilization from the agricultural era to the industrial era, and the application of new technology minerals has promoted the iterative updating of new energy and information industries. The mining industry is undergoing profound changes integrating with emerging technologies, deep mineralization theory, deep exploration technology, green mining methods, efficient mineral processing, and high-end material processing and other fields, and new technologies have become the critical driving force for the future development of the mining industry. Finally, using China Minmetals as a case study, the paper discusses the leading role of large mining enterprises in the new technology era. By leading the development of mining projects, large enterprises achieve the deep integration of cutting-edge technologies and industrial development, form core competitiveness in the fields of deep resource exploration, refractory metallurgical resources development, and high-quality utilization of raw materials, which greatly expand the application scenarios of new technology minerals in the future resource and energy landscape. As “critical minerals + critical technologies” become the core competitiveness of mining companies, mining will play a greater role in future critical industry control and technological innovation. It is hoped that through this discussion, readers will gain a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the mining industry’s development trajectory, better equipping them to face future challenges and opportunities.