The mining and energy sectors are witnessing a quiet revolution, with artificial intelligence and robotics stepping in to address workforce challenges and optimize operations. Myles Recny, co-founder of Texas-based AI software company Realm Alliance, describes the technology’s role in coal processing as “the robot bubble bath.” This metaphor refers to AI’s ability to optimize the froth flotation process by monitoring bubble size, flow dynamics, and chemical balances—tasks beyond human capability.
Realm Alliance is already deploying these AI systems at coal mines in Alabama, and Recny sees Wyoming’s coal operations as a natural fit. The key insight, he says, is that mining operations don’t need to replace everything to benefit from AI. “You can roboticize existing machines with AI and with systems integrations,” Recny explains. “You may be looking to upgrade, but you don’t have to replace everything.” Essentially, coal producers can give their gear new brains.
This means connecting AI to existing camera systems to monitor safety compliance, watch conveyor belts for blockages, and detect when equipment is drifting toward failure. A camera watching a belt can spot a foreign object and automatically shut down the system before damage occurs. Another can detect when a worker isn’t wearing proper safety equipment, Recny notes. “We’re not replacing humans in coal,” he adds. “We’re kind of addressing a reality, which is that there are fewer and fewer people available to work in coal. And so AI can kind of fill a gap where we’re not able to hire new talent at the same rate.”
The flotation cell optimization alone, Recny says, could improve coal yield by 2% to 5%—translating to millions of dollars in additional revenue from coal that would otherwise wash away as waste.
While AI enhances coal processing, robotics are changing how oil producers operate. Tom Kropatsch, supervisor of the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, says automation is increasingly common on drilling rigs operating in the state. “We are starting to see certain drilling rigs with more automation involved,” Kropatsch says. “It’s not always the deckhands up there on the rig floor doing work. There’s more automation built into that. More robotics.”
Robotic arms now handle tasks that once required workers to manually wrestle with drill pipes and chains in a work environment with many safety challenges. “You can make those joints on drill casing and things like that with those robotic arms and tongs that used to be done manually,” Kropatsch says. “Now it’s the robotics that are able to make those joints, put the drill pipe together or take it apart, stack those joints on the rig.” “It’s for the parts of the process that expose humans to potential risk,” he adds. “Anytime you’re removing people from that, that’s where I’ve seen it.”
The conversation about robots in energy and mining gained fresh momentum this month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Korean automaker Hyundai and its subsidiary Boston Dynamics unveiled a sweeping artificial intelligence robotics strategy. The presentation featured the company’s Atlas humanoid robot, an AI-powered machine designed to help with repetitive tasks in factories and warehouses. Boston Dynamics’ Spot quadruped robot is already deployed at energy facilities worldwide, including BP platforms in the Gulf of Mexico where it reads gauges, monitors corrosion, and detects methane leaks.
Hyundai announced plans to expand robotics applications to logistics, energy, construction and facility management sectors. Other companies showcased robots designed specifically for energy work. China-based DEEP Robotics demonstrated its Jueying X30, which has taken a leading position in the global energy inspection market with autonomous navigation that achieves centimeter-level positioning in indoor environments. The company recently deployed a robot nicknamed “SPock” to patrol sections of a 40-kilometer underground power transmission tunnel in Singapore — the first Chinese quadruped robot deployed to an overseas power system.
Wyoming’s mining sector has been slower to adopt robotics, according to Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association. “I don’t believe we are using much in the way of robotics in our conventional mining operations,” Deti says. “We’re still pretty old school with people and equipment.” Some automation exists at processing facilities, he notes, such as bagging operations at bentonite plants. And larger surface mines use drone technology for surveying and monitoring. But walking robots and AI-enhanced systems remain largely on the horizon.
That could change as workforce challenges mount and technology costs decline. The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced its Mine of the Future initiative, offering up to $80 million to establish proving grounds for next-generation mining technologies, with “innovations in robotics and autonomous mining” listed as a core focus area.
The case for mining automation has been building for years. A 2023 article in Geo Drilling International titled “Applying robot