This survey article provides a synopsis on some of the engineering problems, technological innovations, robotic development and automation efforts encountered in the mining industry -- particularly in the Pilbara iron-ore region of Western Australia. The goal is to paint the technology landscape and highlight issues relevant to an engineering audience to raise awareness of AI and automation trends in mining. It assumes the reader has no prior knowledge of mining and builds context gradually through focused discussion and short summaries of common open-pit mining operations. The principal activities that take place may be categorized in terms of resource development, mine-, rail- and port operations. From mineral exploration to ore shipment, there are roughly nine steps in between. These include: geological assessment, mine planning and development, production drilling and assaying, blasting and excavation, transportation of ore and waste, crush and screen, stockpile and load-out, rail network distribution, and ore-car dumping. The objective is to describe these processes and provide insights on some of the challenges/opportunities from the perspective of a decade-long industry-university R&D partnership.

翻译：本文综述了采矿工业中遇到的部分工程问题、技术创新、机器人开发及自动化成果——特别是针对西澳大利亚皮尔巴拉铁矿石区域。研究旨在描绘技术全景，突出与工程领域读者相关的议题，以提升对采矿行业人工智能与自动化趋势的认知。本文假定读者无采矿知识背景，通过聚焦讨论和常见露天采矿作业的简要总结逐步构建上下文语境。采矿活动主要分为资源开发、矿山-铁路-港口运营三大类别。从矿产勘探到矿石运输，其间大致包含九个环节：地质评估、矿山规划与开发、生产钻井与化验、爆破与开挖、矿石与废石运输、破碎与筛分、堆存与装载、铁路网络分配以及矿石车卸料。本文旨在描述这些流程，并从十年校企研发合作视角剖析其中的挑战与机遇。