Australia’s mining sector is proposing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for project approvals via a $13 million investment in a three-year pilot program.
The program will embed AI into environmental regulatory decision-making with the potential for a long-term benefit of up to $1 billion.
Multiple mining projects, more than 5,000km of transmission lines and 26,000 homes are caught up in an approvals backlog. According to the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), an increase in average decision times for resources projects of 60% from 2.3 years in 2019 to 3.8 years in 2025 is creating uncertainty, costing the Australian economy billions of dollars and eroding investor confidence.
The proposed pilot program would cut through inefficient manual document reviews, inconsistent application conditions and repeated lengthy requests for information by using AI to deliver fairer and more predictable outcomes, enabling regulators to focus effort on the most complex and high-risk approvals.
MCA says the first solution is estimated to take around 12 to 20 weeks, while the total program development – across four solutions – is estimated to take six to 12 months.
The council is asking the Australian Government to fund a pilot which would trial AI support for human decision-making to improve the transparency and accuracy of assessment and approvals under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity (EPBC) Act.
A smaller amount of ongoing capital investment will enable continuous improvement and system evolution.
Amazon Web Services is committed to partnering with the MCA to deliver the pilot program, subject to securing approval from the Australian Government.
No more missed opportunities
MCA Chief Executive Tania Constable says embedding AI in approvals can position Australia as a leader in sustainable development and in responsible innovation.
“In mining alone, a 12-month delay across the new project pipeline is estimated to cost the Australian economy $51 billion in cumulative gross domestic product, and bottlenecks are worsening as volumes of approvals driven by renewables and critical minerals projects continue to increase,” Constable says.
“We know that EPBC delays and uncertainty can result in millions of dollars in lost project value, duplication of costs, and missed investment opportunities which negatively affects communities and the Australian economy as well as project proponents.”
AI is already being used in Australia and internationally. For example, in New South Wales, the state has an AI solution to review building permit applications as part of the state’s development process, automate compliance checks and expedite assessments.
In British Columbia, Mining Digital Services built an AI-powered searchable library that extracts and verifies permit conditions, reducing reliance on institutional knowledge and enabling faster compliance reporting.
Further, in the US, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has developed PermitAI which supports environmental reviews by searching prior assessment and assisting document drafting. Currently in the testing phase, PermitAI has already improved data quality and access, enhanced search capability and streamlined the public comment process.
According to S&P Global, the rise in generative AI grew following the launch of ChatGPT, rallying AI stocks and contributing to gains in the S&P 500 Information Technology index, which surged 30% from November 2022 to November 2023.
In S&P Global Energy’s latest Horizons Top Trends report for 2026, AI uptake is set to soar as demand rises – testing grid limits, revenue models, and sustainability goals, as reported. Potential demand is expected to reach over 2,200 terawatts per hour – roughly equivalent to India’s total energy consumption.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Minerals Council of Australia
