Looking for a Job in Mining: Be the First Robot in Line

Patty Loew: Ojibwe didn't protect wetlands for mine.   (Wisconsin State Journal, 3/1/2013)

Excerpt:  And will this mine really create jobs? Look at Australia, where some of the most profitable mining companies are headquartered, to see the future of mining. Who's planting the explosives, manning the drills and driving the trucks that carry the ore from the mines to the processing facilities? It's not a "who." It's a "what." Robots are used for these jobs.

Miners take "rail-veyors" and robots to automated future.  (Reuters, 10/28/2012)

Excerpt: Such advances may prove crucial as easy-to-exploit deposits run dry and miners drill deeper in more remote places to supply China, India and other emerging economies. The technology could make mining cheaper and safer, avoiding the need to dig wide tunnels and hire large numbers of expensive, skilled workers.