Last year was a tough test of strength for the mining industry. Economic stagnation, cut budgets and staffing shortages have forced companies to reconsider their priorities. Elena Sapunova, director of industry solutions for the mining industry at CROC, spoke about which IT trends dominated in 2025 and what awaits the industry in 2026.
The main result of 2025 is the abandonment of fashionable concepts in favor of pragmatism. Enterprises have shortened their planning horizons and chosen short and quick projects. The main efforts were directed towards the transition to Russian software and ensuring security. Forecasts from previous years were confirmed: budgets actually turned out to be more modest, and there was no alternative to relying on domestic software.
But the year also brought new challenges. The growing interest in rare earth metals has exposed the technological gap. The industry rushed to look for ways to reduce the cost of production. The personnel shortage reached 68 thousand people, which paralyzed many projects. Coal miners faced difficulties with sales and logistics, but gold mining showed an increase of 4.5%, reaching 345 tons. The commissioning of new mining and processing plants – Kultuminsky, Shanucha, Chernogorsky – added optimism.
The companies concentrated on operational tasks: optimization of rock mass transportation, implementation of ERP and document management systems, ensuring infrastructure continuity. As a result, 2025, despite all the complexity, was laid down basis for future digitalization.
In 2026, the industry will focus on three strategic areas.
The first is new technologies. Rare earth mining will get a boost from processing methods tested in the fall. Custom neural networks will begin to move en masse to the industrial level: from predicting equipment breakdowns to optimizing the operation of enrichment plants. New land reclamation rules came into force in September. Companies will have to implement systems for continuous environmental monitoring and automatic control of site restoration.
The second direction is Russian solutions. A peak in government regulation in this area is expected. From integrated ERP platforms to production management systems – picture of the full technological cycle will begin to form into a single whole. The shortage of personnel will spur the development of remotely controlled mining and transport complexes. Robots and remote work will be the answer to the shortage of people.
The third is regional development. The development of Chukotka and the Far East is gaining momentum. New mining and processing plants already at the design stage lay down the comprehensive digitalization of infrastructure. Predictive equipment maintenance systems will become mainstream and the main driver of the development of repair services.
In general, 2026 promises to be a time of intellectualization of basic processes. The focus will shift to basic automation, the introduction of industrial neural networks and domestic software. Remote control, exploration automation, environmental monitoring and predictive maintenance will create the foundation for a comprehensive transformation. This will allow us to design systems at a new level, where risk management will become easier and more timely.
The expert is confident that solutions born in response to new challenges will increase operational efficiency and ensure the sustainability of enterprises in an era of global change.
Source: NEDRADV
