The Hidden Operation: Why Autonomous Mining Systems Struggle with Decision-Making

Speaker

Professor Mohsen Yahyaei

Abstract

Autonomous mining systems do not struggle because control models are weak or AI algorithms are immature. They struggle because the most critical part of plant performance, decision-making across competing objectives, remains informal, fragmented, and largely invisible. In every operation, stabilising unit processes is only part of the challenge. The real complexity emerges when objectives conflict: throughput versus recovery, energy versus productivity, water constraints versus metallurgical stability, ESG targets versus short-term production pressure. These trade-offs are negotiated daily by operators, metallurgists, and supervisors. Yet this “decision layer” is not formally structured, measured, or supported by our current automation architecture. We have world-class control systems that optimise sub-systems effectively under stable conditions. But cross-functional arbitration under uncertainty, especially during transitions, constraints, and disturbances, remains human-driven, inconsistent, and rarely traceable. This is the hidden operation of mining plants. If we want meaningful progress in autonomy, we must move beyond optimising control loops and begin formalising and scaling the decision-making process itself. This seminar will introduce the Communicative Process Automation (CPA), a proposed Decision Systems layer that structures negotiation between competing objectives, makes trade-offs explicit, logs rationale, integrates human expertise, and adapts under uncertainty. True autonomy will not come from more dashboards or better models alone. It will come from making the hidden operation visible, measurable, and intelligently supported.

Bio

Professor Mohsen Yahyaei is Director of the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) at The University of Queensland and Program Leader for Future Autonomous Systems & Technologies within the Sustainable Minerals Institute. His research focuses on advanced process control, soft sensors, dynamic modelling, and next-generation decision-support systems for complex mineral processing operations. Mohsen leads multiple industry-wide initiatives to integrate AI and automation into mining in practical and scalable ways. His current work explores Communicative Process Automation (CPA), a new architectural approach to structuring and scaling decision-making in autonomous mining systems.