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 briefly describe what each of these processes involves and identify some of the challenges/opportunities from the perspective of a decade-long industry-university R&D collaboration.

翻译：本综述文章概述了采矿业中遇到的部分工程问题、技术创新、机器人开发及自动化努力，重点关注西澳大利亚皮尔巴拉铁矿石产区。文章旨在描绘技术格局并突出与工程受众相关的问题，以提高对采矿业中人工智能和自动化趋势的认识。本文假设读者无采矿背景知识，通过聚焦讨论和常见露天采矿作业的简短总结逐步构建背景。主要作业活动可归类为资源开发、矿山、铁路和港口运营。从矿物勘探到矿石运输，其间大致包含九个步骤：地质评估、矿山规划与开发、生产钻孔与化验、爆破与挖掘、矿石及废石运输、破碎与筛分、堆存与装载、铁路网络分配以及矿石车厢卸载。本文旨在简要描述每个流程涉及的内容，并从长达十年的产学研合作研发视角指出其中的挑战与机遇。