Innovation plays a critical role in the mining industry as a tool to improve the efficiency of its processes, to reduce costs, but also to meet the increasing social and environmental concerns among communities and authorities. Technological progress has also been crucial to allow the exploitation of new deposits in more complex scenarios: lower ore grades, extreme weather conditions, deeper deposits, harder rock mass, and high-stress environments. This paper discusses the importance of innovation for the mining industry and describes the mechanisms by which it is carried out. It includes a review of the drivers and actors involved and current trends. The digital transformation process that the industry is going through is analyzed, along with other relevant trends that are likely to shape the mining of the future. Additionally, a case study is presented to illustrate the technical and economic implications of developing a disruptive innovation project.

中文翻译：

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采矿业的创新：技术趋势和颠覆性创新挑战的案例研究

创新作为提高流程效率、降低成本以及满足社区和当局日益关注的社会和环境问题的工具，在采矿业中发挥着关键作用。技术进步对于在更复杂的情况下开发新矿床也至关重要：更低的矿石品位、极端天气条件、更深的矿床、更硬的岩体和高应力环境。本文讨论了创新对采矿业的重要性，并描述了创新的实施机制。它包括对所涉及的驱动因素和参与者以及当前趋势的审查。分析了该行业正在经历的数字化转型过程，以及可能影响未来采矿业的其他相关趋势。此外，