Recently, the National Mine Safety Administration released the “Key Research and Development Directory for Intelligent Mining Robots” (hereinafter referred to as the “Directory”). The Directory aims to reduce the labor intensity of workers, lower operational safety risks, and enhance safety assurance capabilities, focusing on the replacement of robots in hazardous, labor-intensive, and dirty positions in mines. It proposes key research and application in seven categories of mining robots: tunneling, mining, transportation, mineral processing, auxiliary operations, safety control, and rescue, totaling 56 types of intelligent mining robots, clearly defining the application scenarios and basic functions that each type of robot should possess.
Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and former president of China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Ge Shirong, is the leading expert in formulating the Directory. Recently, a reporter from China Coal News conducted an exclusive interview regarding the Directory.
Clarifying Common Requirements for Robot Development
In September 2023, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the “Opinions on Further Strengthening Safety Production in Mines,” proposing to promote the research and application of intelligent equipment and robots in mines.
In April 2024, the National Mine Safety Administration and seven other departments issued the “Guiding Opinions on Deepening the Construction of Intelligent Mines to Promote Safety Development in Mines,” requiring the acceleration of the replacement of robots in dangerous and heavy-duty positions, and releasing the “Key Research and Development Directory for Mining Robots,” encouraging regions with conditions to build a complete industrial chain and fill the gaps in the research and application of various mining robots.
“The Directory is the focal point and key point for implementing these two documents,” Ge Shirong said, noting that the intelligentization of mining systems can be subdivided into equipment intelligence, data intelligence, decision intelligence, and process intelligence.
“Equipment intelligence essentially refers to the application of robots as replacements,” Ge Shirong stated, emphasizing that the Directory is an important support for promoting the intelligence of mining equipment.
In May 2024, the National Mine Safety Administration initiated the work to formulate the Directory. About 30 units participated in the research and drafting of the Directory, including major production enterprises such as the State Energy Group and Shandong Gold Group, as well as research and manufacturing units like China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing) and CITIC Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., making it widely representative.
During the drafting process, the drafting group held more than 10 meetings to discuss the drafting of the Directory. In June 2025, the “Key Research and Development Directory for Intelligent Mining Robots (Draft for Comments)” (referred to as the Draft for Comments) was released.
After the release of the Draft for Comments, the drafting group received over 200 feedback comments from various parties, adopting and partially adopting about three-quarters of them.
The Draft for Comments proposed seven categories of 80 types of intelligent mining robots, while the officially released Directory was reduced to seven categories of 56 types.
Regarding this change, Ge Shirong explained that it mainly involved the integration of some mining robots with similar functions. When drafting the Draft for Comments, different industries from coal and non-coal mines proposed robots that needed key research and development. However, some mining robots had similar functions, and the technologies to be tackled were common. The Directory thus proposed requirements for the research and development of intelligent mining robots from the perspective of common technologies.
At the same time, the Directory refined the description of the intelligence level of robots into functional expressions that better suit the actual conditions of mines, such as “autonomous navigation,” “automatic drilling and anchoring,” and “adaptive transportation,” to guide the mining industry in better developing and applying robots.
Responding to New Demands for Intelligent Development
Ge Shirong introduced that the released Directory has four characteristics, reflecting and responding to new trends and demands in the development of mining robots.
First, the industry field has expanded from coal mines to all types of mines.
In January 2019, the National Coal Mine Safety Administration released the “Key Research and Development Directory for Coal Mine Robots,” proposing the need to focus on the research and development of five categories of 38 types of coal mine robots.
The Directory targets all mining fields, including intelligent robots for tunneling and mining applicable to various types of mines, as well as specialized intelligent robots for tailings dam compaction and dam construction, clearly defining the basic requirements for robots in different mining scenarios.
Second, it covers the entire production process of mining.
Compared to the “Key Research and Development Directory for Coal Mine Robots,” the Directory adds two categories: intelligent robots for mineral processing and intelligent robots for auxiliary operations.
Mining production involves geological, mining, mineral processing, transportation, and management stages. In addition to mining operations, mining production also involves auxiliary tasks such as equipment installation, maintenance of production scenarios, and handling emergencies.
Auxiliary operations involve a large number of personnel, and miners often have to transport and install equipment weighing dozens or even hundreds of kilograms, resulting in high labor intensity; the working environment is harsh, involving many work stages and numerous safety hazards.
The “Key Research and Development Directory for Coal Mine Robots” focused more on the mining operations where accidents are likely to occur. With the improvement of intelligent levels, the number of personnel working in mining operations has significantly decreased from over ten to three or four, greatly enhancing safety levels, making auxiliary operations a key focus for reducing personnel and increasing safety in mines.
From the perspective of equipment intelligence, the Directory fills the gaps in the mining production process, helping to promote the intelligent level of the entire mining production process.
Third, the level of intelligence has been enhanced.
Ge Shirong believes that the Directory not only increases the number of mining robots but also sets new requirements for the intelligence level of mining robots.
The enhancement of intelligence levels is first reflected in the names. The Directory has higher requirements for the perception, control, and feedback capabilities of intelligent mining robots.
“The previous coal mine robots were version 1.0, while this time the overall is version 2.0, with some robots possibly reaching version 3.0,” Ge Shirong stated.
Fourth, there is a stronger emphasis on the normalized application of mining robots.
“Normalized application is an important direction for the development of mining robots,” Ge Shirong emphasized, noting that currently, the normalized operation rate of mining robots is still relatively low. If intelligent mining robots can meet the requirements described in the Directory, they will essentially be user-friendly and durable, achieving normalized application.
Promoting Research and Industrial Application
“The Directory is guiding,” Ge Shirong said, “The ‘Key Research and Development Directory for Coal Mine Robots’ is also guiding; we did not expect the rapid development of coal mine robots after its release, and the enthusiasm for response has been very high.”
Ge Shirong stated that the release of the Directory will help guide research institutions to strengthen research on intelligent mining robots, encourage manufacturing enterprises to vigorously develop and manufacture intelligent mining robots, and encourage mining enterprises to boldly apply intelligent robots.
The National Mine Safety Administration has proposed accelerating the research and industrial application of intelligent mining robots.
Regarding how to promote the research and industrial application of intelligent mining robots, Ge Shirong suggested strengthening cooperation between industry, academia, and research, especially encouraging mining enterprises to actively participate, forming an innovative chain for the research, manufacturing, and application of intelligent mining robots.
Ge Shirong noted that in the past five years, the mining industry has focused more on equipment intelligence, with increased research in large models and digital twins in the last one to two years. Currently, there are two weak links in the research and application of mining robots: one is sensors, which affect the autonomous perception capabilities of mining robots; the other is that decision-making cannot yet be adjusted and optimized in real-time.
“We need to strengthen efforts in data intelligence and decision intelligence,” Ge Shirong emphasized.
Ge Shirong mentioned that in 2019, when the “Key Research and Development Directory for Coal Mine Robots” was launched, the state provided strong support in three aspects. First, it included the research and application of coal mine robots in the scope of central funding support. Second, it implemented special policies to facilitate the use of coal mine robots underground. Third, the safety fees extracted from coal mines can be used for the research and application of robots.
“These three policies have stimulated the enthusiasm of coal mine enterprises to research and apply coal mine robots,” Ge Shirong said, while the Directory has expanded to non-coal mines, and supporting policies need further discussion to encourage enterprises to research and apply intelligent mining robots, thereby achieving the goals of reducing personnel and increasing safety, improving efficiency, and reducing emissions.
Source: China Coal News