The use of self-driving haul trucks, automated drills, and remote-controlled heavy equipment to extract mineral resources from mines without human onboard drivers.

Brandished by industrial equipment vendors in investor decks to frame heavy earth-moving equipment operated by GPS and remote software as futuristic eco-mining.

• Futuristic Industrial Flex: Making remote-controlled bulldozers sound like sentient space exploration equipment.
• Labor Reduction Mask: Using slick technology terms to disguise laying off truck drivers and mine workers.
• Kitchen Reality Check: Like using a remote-controlled toy truck to move flour across a kitchen and calling it "autonomous mining."

The Martian (2010s) scene where automated heavy digging rovers and remote machinery mine soil and extract ice water autonomously on the Martian surface.

Using self-driving vehicles and remote-controlled machinery to operate mines without onboard human drivers.

“Deploying autonomous mining fleets reduced operational downtime across open-pit sites.”

“The mining company replaced human drivers with self-driving haul trucks controlled by GPS and central software.”