AI in Metals & Mining

A leading US-based integrated steel manufacturer deployed C3 AI Process Optimization at its cryogenic gas processing units, cutting sulfur emissions 20%, electricity consumption 12% (equivalent to 2,000 homes), and going from kickoff to production in 26 weeks.

At its Fangchenggang base in Guangxi, Liuzhou Steel Group worked with Huawei and China Mobile to build an intelligent molten iron transport system combining the industrial internet, 5G and AI. A dispatching system plans tasks and routes for each vehicle, driverless locomotives use cameras and radar, and molten iron vehicles uncouple and park automatically, replacing a team of over 70 workers.

Chinalco and the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association released Kun'an 2.0, the second version of the sector's first large AI model. After building more than 100 AI application scenarios in 2025, Chinalco released 52 of them and eight high-quality industry datasets, covering exploration, mining, smelting and processing, and recycling.

Rio Tinto operates one of the world's largest fleets of autonomous mining equipment in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, including 40 autonomous drills across 5 platforms at 7 mine sites, all remotely controlled from the Perth Operations Centre. AI-powered Mine Automation System connects 98% of sites, optimising ore body modeling, equipment dispatch, autonomous truck queuing, and blast control.