Mariana Minerals has announced the resumption of mining operations at the Copper One project in south-eastern Utah, US.
The reopening signifies a notable development in mining as Copper One becomes the first global site to utilise autonomous tools across mining, refining and project execution, all managed by a single operating system.
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Mariana took control of the 10,000-acre site, known for producing high-purity copper cathode since 2009, following its acquisition of Lisbon Valley Mining Company in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Although refinery activities continued, mining operations were suspended in late 2024 due to increasing costs and challenges in recruiting workers.
Operations have restarted using advanced autonomous systems from the outset.
The MarianaOS system, central to this initiative, integrates MineOS, PlantOS and CapitalProjectOS, supporting operations from mining to copper production.
Copper One is introducing three autonomous equipment platforms into its mining operations.
Pronto’s Autonomous Haulage System employs camera-based machine learning (ML) and Global Navigation Satellite Systems for driverless haul trucks, adaptable across various fleets.
Sandvik’s AutoMine facilitates remote-controlled autonomous drilling, while Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots conduct independent patrols of the site, including the refinery infrastructure.
These systems feed data into MineOS for optimisation and ongoing enhancements.
In refining, PlantOS utilises real-time data for optimisation, employing ML for predictive adjustments and maintenance within a largely human-free process.
CapitalProjectOS streamlines infrastructure development, ensuring real-time tracking and risk management to meet output targets.
Mariana aims to increase Copper One’s production to 50,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of high-purity copper cathode by 2030, utilising extra deposits on-site and incorporating copper scrap recycling.
Mariana Minerals co-founder and CEO Turner Caldwell said: “Copper One will be the first mine where delivering end-to-end autonomy is the priority, where it is being rapidly deployed across mining and refining operations and coordinated by our internal software stack. That is what MarianaOS makes possible.
“We chose to prove it here because the stakes are real: the US has a structural copper deficit, and the window to close it is narrowing. We are producing now and ramping output aggressively, with the primary goal of achieving fully autonomous mining operations.”
