Mining’s AI moment and the AVEVA World Milan sessions you shouldn't miss

Posted: April 28, 2026

If AI was once a curiosity in the mining and metals industry, it isn't anymore. In 2026, it sits at the top of the digital agenda. According to EY, in 2026, 21% of mining organizations plan to invest more than 20% of their additional budget over the next year toward building AI capabilities.[1] That's a striking signal. It speaks to the potential organizations see in the technology, but also to the mounting operational complexity they must find new ways to navigate.

At AVEVA World Milan this year, these are the conversations leaders will be having. Together, we’ll share strategies, exchange ideas, and move the needle on the industry's most pressing challenges.

An industry under pressure

Mining and metals operations are getting more complex every year. Operating costs are rising, and so is market volatility. Environmental regulations are growing more stringent, more numerous, and increasingly complex. For steel and aluminum producers, pressure is coming from two directions at once: decarbonization demands massive capital investment, meanwhile rising energy costs squeeze the margins needed to fund it.

And then there are the operational realities. Mining assets are geographically dispersed, often remote. Infrastructure is aging. Skilled workers are retiring faster than mining and metals companies can hire and train replacements. These aren’t new problems, but the changing environment that companies operate in today leaves far less room to absorb them.

It’s against this backdrop of rising costs, complexity, and regulations that AI emerges as the industry’s best answer. Conventional tools and approaches aren’t effective against these new pressures. Traditional cost-cutting can’t cut deep enough. The next wave of productivity gains has to come from smarter, more connected, data-driven operations. That’s just what industrial AI promises.

Although the ambition for AI is there, the execution isn’t quite. At least not yet. Today, most AI initiatives in the mining and metals industry are stuck at the proof-of-concept stage, focused on areas like health and safety, sustainability, and planning, rather than the kind of scalable, enterprise-wide deployments that deliver real, meaningful impact. The issue isn't a lack of ambition. It’s a lack of foundation. According to BCG, the mining and metals  industry is 30–40% less digitally mature than comparable sectors like automotive and chemicals.[2]

Disconnected systems, data, and teams aren’t built for the kind of unified operations you need to move AI initiatives from the pilot stage to the pit.

The questions the industry is asking

Today, the question that mining and metals companies are asking isn’t whether they should pursue AI. They’re asking: How do we make it scale? How do we connect our fragmented systems and data sources to support it? And most of all, how do we get real, measurable value out of it?

Leaders in the industry are already closing in on the answers. Real breakthroughs come when AI moves beyond limited experiments and is embedded closer to core operations, integrated across planning, extraction, processing, and logistics.

At that point the gains are concrete. AI-driven predictive analytics detects equipment issues weeks or months before failure to avoid costly downtime. AI-powered optimization tools maximize recovery and cut energy use. Autonomous haulage systems improve efficiency and safety. According to McKinsey, Digital-first engineering and design compresses project schedules by as much as 20%[3] Less downtime, less waste. Lower costs and higher output.

The mining and metals companies that get this right first are the ones that will lead tomorrow. At AVEVA World Milan, that conversation will be center stage.

What you’ll hear at AVEVA World Milan

AVEVA World is bringing together mining, steel, aluminum, and cement organizations, technology leaders, and other industry peers to share, learn, and accelerate the path from limited pilot programs to operations at scale. Sessions are built around real strategies, real implementations, and real results. Here’s a look at a few of the mining and metals leaders presenting this year:

• Voestalpine Krems is using AI to predict sawblade wear on roll forming lines, delivering actionable insights via a simple traffic-light indicator. The result: smarter blade changes, less scrap, and better quality.
• Norsk Hydro will share how it’s applying ML and AI to asset management and reliability engineering, predicting failures, optimizing maintenance schedules, and demonstrating measurable ROI across mobile assets like trucks and tractors.
• Agnico Eagle has evolved from isolated analytics use cases to a fully connected, enterprise-wide digital ecosystem. They'll walk through how integrating tools like Databricks and Braincube into CONNECT—alongside the deployment of AVEVA's Unified Operations Center—is enabling real-time visibility and decision-making across multiple mine sites.
• Vale's is using the AVEVA PI System and AI to drive its "model plant" concept, built around optimization, operational intelligence, and democratization of data. Predictive analytics now prioritizes actions by urgency and asset criticality across the operation.

Panels focused on what comes next

Looking for practical takeaways? We have three panels that dig into the challenges that matter most:

AI hour: AI readiness starts with data – Mining, metals, and minerals beyond the hype

To get real value out of advanced analytics and machine learning, first you’ll need the right foundation: A unified, contextualized data layer. This panel discusses how to build that foundation, and what’s possible once it’s in place.

Energy hour: Energy Intelligence — The key to competitive mining, metals, and minerals

For mining and metals companies, optimizing energy use is no longer optional. It’s essential for competitiveness and carbon reduction. This panel explores how data-driven energy management can transform production strategies.

CONNECT hour: Connecting the value chain—Smarter, safer, sustainable mining and metals

The success of any mining and metals company depends on the success of the value chain it lives in. This panel discusses how AVEVA’s industrial cloud platform can transform a network of business partners into one connected ecosystem.

More than a conference

AVEVA World Milan is also about connection. Roundtables, offsite events, and industry receptions provide space for the conversations you’ll remember long after the event.

For mining and metals professionals ready to turn their AI ambitions into execution, the tools, the strategies, and the real-world results exist. AVEVA World Milan brings them together in one place.

Join us in Milan, May 19-21, and take part in what comes next.

^{[1] Ernst & Young. (2025, October 16). Top 10 business risks and opportunities for mining and metals in 2026. https://www.ey.com/content/dam/ey-unified-site/ey-com/en-gl/insights/mining-metals/documents/ey-gl-top-ten-business-risks-and-opportunities-10-2025.pdf}

^{[2] Ganeriwalla, A., Harnathka, S., & Voigt, N. (2021, February 4). Racing toward a digital future in metals and mining. Boston Consulting Group. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2021/adopting-a-digital-strategy-in-the-metals-and-mining-industry}

^{[3] Kok, E., Rauer, J., Sachdeva, P., & Pikul, P. (2025, August 1). Scaling bigger, faster, cheaper data centers with smarter designs. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/private-capital/our-insights/scaling-bigger-faster-cheaper-data-centers-with-smarter-designs}