Nornickel has begun large-scale robotization of mining enterprises. The company's mines and plants are testing equipment capable of operating without human involvement: demolition robots, autonomous dump trucks, and rock breakers with artificial intelligence. The goal is to create an unmanned mine where people will not have to work in dangerous areas.

At the Nadezhdinsky Metallurgical Plant, 15 demolition robots with hydraulic hammers boasting a power of 1500 joules are already in operation. An operator controls them from a safe distance of up to 150 meters, sending the equipment into areas with high temperatures or a risk of collapse. One such machine replaces the labor of 30 people.

At the Komsomolsky mine, an autonomous rock breaker with a machine vision system is being tested. The unit independently locates oversized rock fragments after explosions and strikes them with a hydraulic hammer at the optimal point. One operator will be able to control several such machines from a safe control room.

As noted by Nornickel, the company is assembling a portfolio of various solutions – from industrial manipulators to robot dogs – to understand which formats of autonomous equipment will truly take root in production. According to the head of the company, Vladimir Potanin, from the launch of such units to an unmanned mine, there are "a couple of steps" left.