MASTERMINE aims to become the reference ecosystem for European mines, encompassing digitalization, environmental sustainability, productivity monitoring, and public acceptance.

The project consists of six modules that address real industrial challenges:

• CYBERMINE focuses on the digital transformation of mines;
• AUTOMINE promotes autonomous and electric operations along with intelligent monitoring and maintenance;
• GEOMINE addresses safety and stability in critical structures;
• GREENMINE tackles environmental sustainability by improving energy consumption, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, water savings, and waste valorization;
• METAMINE builds a virtual world for EU mines, introducing the concept of the mining metaverse, which integrates all technologies together with Digital Twins and Business Intelligence to provide simulation and decision-making support;
• OURMINE engages communities, building trust around raw material sustainability compliance and fostering social innovation.

The approach will be demonstrated through five demonstration cases in the EU (demonstration mines) and one demonstration mine in South Africa (replica). Mining partners provide access to a total of 11 mines across Europe, producing 10 different raw materials, including five CRMs (critical raw materials): cobalt, tungsten, coking coal, phosphate rock, and platinum.

Tharsis Mining focuses its use case on smart technologies for the mine opening and development phase, targeting the following areas: environmental performance, productivity improvement, safer operations (early warning systems), cost reduction, and social acceptance.

This project has a duration of four years and is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under contract No. 101091895.