Mariana Minerals has announced the deployment of autonomy-first technology at Copper One, an operating copper mine and refinery located in southeastern Utah. The company aims to use advanced software and autonomous systems to maximize copper recovery and expand output at the site, which has been in operation for over 15 years.
The company plans to deploy MarianaOS, a unified software platform designed to automate operational optimization across the entire value chain. This platform connects process development, capital project execution, geologic modeling, mine planning, simulation, fleet orchestration, plant control, maintenance, and supply chain management. By integrating these systems, the company intends to provide operating teams with a real-time view of distributed systems, ranging from fleet telemetry to market signals.
In addition to primary mining, Mariana Minerals plans to integrate copper scrap processing into the existing refining circuit. This dual-feedstock approach aims to leverage the facility's solvent extraction-electrowinning system to process both geologic and recycled copper. The company stated that this integration is intended to capture domestic secondary resources and reduce the volume of copper scrap exported from the United States.
The initiative seeks to scale the combined output at the Copper One site to 50,000 metric tonnes per year from both geologic and scrap feedstocks. To achieve this, the company will utilize CapitalProjectOS to accelerate capital project delivery. This expansion is aimed at addressing a projected structural deficit in the global copper market, where demand is expected to rise due to electrification, renewable energy, and data center growth.
Mariana Minerals noted that the industry faces challenges such as aging mines with reducing ore grades and a shrinking pool of skilled labor in the West. The company intends to use autonomy and software-driven orchestration to overcome these operational challenges and increase productivity, efficiency, and safety.
The Copper One project represents an effort to build domestic refining and processing capacity in the United States. The company aims to demonstrate that software-first mining can deliver increased safety and efficiency at scale, providing a more resilient domestic supply chain for critical minerals used in modern technology and infrastructure.
