Codelco, Chile’s state-owned copper giant, and Swedish-based technology firm Hexagon signed a five-year memorandum of understanding on 19 December 2025 in Santiago, committing both companies to co-develop and deploy next-generation digital solutions that promise to make mining operations safer, more efficient and more environmentally responsible, according to a joint announcement published by Global Mining Review link.
The agreement, in effect immediately, sets out how the partners will explore, test, validate and eventually implement a suite of advanced technologies—ranging from collision-avoidance systems to AI-driven environmental monitoring—across Codelco’s vast network of open-pit and underground mines. If successful, the alliance could redefine operational standards for the world’s largest copper producer and ripple across an industry under mounting pressure to decarbonise and digitise simultaneously.
Situated at the intersection of digital transformation and ESG accountability, the pact gives Codelco a ready-made innovation pipeline while offering Hexagon a living laboratory in some of the planet’s most demanding geological settings. Executives from both companies say the collaboration is designed to move rapidly from proof of concept to scaled deployment, shortening a cycle that often stretches into years.
Felipe Lagno, Codelco’s Corporate Manager of Innovation and Technology, framed the partnership as “our commitment to digitalising mining operations,” underscoring that the Chilean miner views safety and sustainability as inseparable from productivity. Dave Goddard, President of Hexagon’s Mining division, called the MoU a collaborative approach that will test technologies “in real-world conditions, ensuring meaningful value creation for miners and surrounding communities.”
A Roadmap for Fast-Tracked Innovation
Under the terms outlined in the MoU, the companies will divide their work into three priority pillars:
• Safety Enhancement Technologies – Including advanced fatigue and distraction alert systems, vehicle-to-vehicle collision avoidance, pedestrian detection, and AI-based safety protocols.
• Operational Optimisation Solutions – Spanning autonomous fleet management, assisted drilling tools, real-time environmental and geospatial monitoring, and data-driven decision software.
• Environmental Management Innovations – Focused on impact-assessment tools, sustainable planning models and sensor-based platforms that aim to reduce water usage, energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions.
Each pillar will progress through a structured cycle of laboratory research, pilot testing and commercial rollout. The MoU also spells out confidentiality procedures, responsible data-handling rules and a mechanism for jointly selecting new projects as technology evolves.
Why Now, and Why Together?
Codelco’s copper deposits—among the richest globally—are becoming deeper and more technically challenging to mine. At the same time, global customers and regulators increasingly scrutinise the social and environmental footprint of mineral supply chains. By pairing Codelco’s operational insight with Hexagon’s hardware sensors, software analytics and automation expertise, both companies hope to accelerate solutions that might otherwise take years to reach market.
For Hexagon, whose technology portfolio already covers surveying, autonomous haulage and plant optimisation, the Chilean miner offers a proving ground of scale. Codelco operates the Chuquicamata, El Teniente, Radomiro Tomic and Andina mines, each posing different geological settings, climatic conditions and production methods. Real-time feedback from those sites could help Hexagon refine products destined for global customers.
Pilot deployments are expected to start with collision avoidance and fatigue management, two areas regulators have flagged as critical for open-pit trucks operating 24 hours a day. Hexagon’s existing MineProtect suite alerts drivers to obstacles and monitors eye movements for signs of drowsiness. Integrating those systems with Codelco’s fleet data and site-specific traffic patterns aims to reduce incident rates and downtime simultaneously.
Environmental modules will leverage Hexagon’s geospatial analytics to map tailings dams, water flows and dust emissions in high resolution—capabilities that could help Codelco comply with Chile’s stricter environmental regulations and its own net-zero roadmap.
Structured but Flexible Collaboration
While the MoU sets a five-year horizon, both parties have built in checkpoints allowing for commercial scaling or project re-direction. Confidentiality clauses protect intellectual property, yet the companies intend to publish non-proprietary findings in industry forums to advance sector-wide best practices. A joint steering committee will oversee budgets, timelines and key performance indicators such as accident frequency rates, fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions per tonne of ore moved.
This approach contrasts with traditional vendor-client relationships in which miners may buy off-the-shelf solutions with limited customisation. “We’re actively working to create safer, more efficient and environmentally responsible mining practices that position us as a sustainable development leader,” Lagno said, signalling that bespoke co-innovation could offer Codelco a competitive advantage as ore grades decline and operational costs rise.
Industry Significance
Codelco produced nearly 1.4 million tonnes of copper in 2024, making it a bellwether for technological adoption in base metals. An operational improvement at that scale can materially influence global supply and set benchmarks competitors may feel pressured to match. Moreover, Chile accounts for roughly one-quarter of world copper output, so advances in the country’s flagship state miner could cascade through local suppliers, universities and small-scale operations.
For Hexagon, the collaboration reinforces its strategy of integrating sensing, software and autonomous systems into a “digital mine” architecture. Investors view recurring software revenue—rather than one-off hardware sales—as a stabilising force in a cyclical commodities market. Partnering with Codelco provides a pathway to subscription-based fleet-management and analytics services across multiple sites.
Early Challenges and Next Steps
Turning vision into reality will not be straightforward. Integrating new hardware into existing fleets risks production disruptions. Cybersecurity concerns must be addressed as wireless networks connect thousands of mobile assets. Cultural alignment is equally critical; operators on the ground need training and buy-in to trust alerts and autonomous functions.
The first year of the MoU therefore focuses heavily on pilot trials. Initial projects are likely to roll out at Codelco’s open-pit operations where vehicle interactions pose the highest safety risks, before moving into El Teniente’s deep underground tunnels where communication and localisation technologies are notoriously difficult.
Both companies are also weighing how to measure social impact. Goddard has emphasised “value creation for surrounding communities,” suggesting local hiring, environmental transparency and community monitoring dashboards could become part of the program.
Implications for the Broader Mining Ecosystem
The Codelco-Hexagon agreement could serve as a template for public-private innovation in extractive industries worldwide. Unlike smaller pilot collaborations, a five-year horizon provides the runway needed to tackle complex challenges, such as decarbonising haulage fleets or digitising tailings management, that cannot be solved in quarterly cycles.
If the initiatives succeed, regulators might incorporate technology-based performance metrics—such as autonomous vehicle collision data—into permitting processes, effectively raising the technological floor for new projects. Suppliers could face pressure to integrate their own systems with open platforms to meet mines’ demand for interoperability.
The timing also aligns with an expected surge in demand for copper, driven by electric vehicles, renewable energy and infrastructure upgrades. Incremental gains in recovery rates or reductions in unplanned downtime, magnified across millions of tonnes of ore, could free up supply in an already tight market. Conversely, failure to deliver measurable results could erode stakeholder confidence in technology-led ESG strategies and rekindle debates about mining’s social licence.
For now, the partnership offers a roadmap grounded in real-world testing, shared risk and public accountability. As the first pilots get under way, industry watchers will look for concrete indicators—lower incident rates, shorter maintenance windows, emission reductions—that demonstrate whether high-level commitments translate into operational value.
Sources
- https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/19122025/codelco-and-hexagon-sign-agreement-to-develop-and-implement-advanced-technological-solutions-in-mining/
