ROBOTIC TECNOLOGY: A WAY TOWARDS AN INTELLIGENT MINING Luis F. Ramrez S1., Luis Baeza2 , Juan C. Barros3MI Robotic Solutions S.A. (MIRS), Chile Hugo C. Salamanca4, Enrique A. Cooper5 Industrial Support Company Ltda. (HighService), Chile ABSTRACT MI Robotic Solutions S.A. (MIRS) with its shareholders HighService Ltd, CODELCO, Nippon Mining and Metals Co Ltd and KUKA Roboter GmbH is a new technological company which offers a wide range of robotic system applications and related services for every sphere of activity in the mining industry. MIRS have currently installed four robotic solutions in various areas of the mining industry, such as Electro-Winning plants, Smelters and Roasting furnaces. The integration of robotic technology in the mining industry is especially adequate to improve its productive processes. Robotic solutions offer specific benefits to workers, the industry and countries where mining is a major player in its economy. Introduced correctly, mining robotic solutions can improve the quality of life by keeping workers away from dirty, tedious, dangerous and heavy labor. It is true that robotic solutions can cause unemployment by replacing human workers but robotic solutions also create new jobs: robotic technicians, salesmen, mechatronic engineers, special tools developers, programmers and supervisors. Considering the new requirements of the mining operators, such as its responsibility in the direct generation of professional illnesses, the necessity of operation cost reductions, MIRS has considered to develop different kinds of new robotic solutions, to solve those problems in areas such as mine, concentrators, copper smelter, Solvent Extraction-Electro Winning (SX-EW) plants and refineries. These new robotic solutions have been specially designed to play a key role in ensuring that all critical processes involved in mining production work effectively, avoiding many deficiencies caused by risk or environmental adverse process' tasks while ensuring high flexibility, continuity and safety of the productive process where they can be applied.