At Waterline, our purpose has always been clear, helping our clients in the resources sector operate smarter, safer, and more efficiently. In 2024 and 2025, that mission has taken an exciting leap forward as we’ve integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into the heart of how we work, with our people, our clients, and the projects that shape the mining industry.
From management to intelligence
AI isn’t replacing engineering—it’s enhancing it. Just as the mining industry evolved through automation, we’re now moving from data management to data intelligence.
Across our business, we’re applying AI-powered solutions, enabling engineers to spend more time solving clients’ problems. And we’re not stopping there, we have invested in tooling that our clients can leverage, helping them gain more time back in their day to focus on other key priorities.
AI in action: Smarter drawings, faster decisions
One of the most powerful applications of our AI evolution has been helping our clients with drawing metadata extraction. Historically, this was a manual and time-intensive task, often taking days or months depending on the project. Our AI offering delivers accurate, scalable outputs in a fraction of the time, with test results showing 80%+ accuracy and continuous improvement through learning models.
Behind every insight is trust. At Waterline, we have ensured our model is robust, giving our engineers and clients confidence in every recommendation.
Empowering frontline workers
AI at Waterline isn’t about replacing people, it’s about empowering them. Our goal is to give frontline workers all the information they need at their fingertips. Engineers still make the final decisions, but now they can do so with better data, faster insights, and greater confidence.
As I’ve said at several recent industry events, the back-office’s role is to equip the frontline, not replace it. AI is one of the most powerful tools in achieving that.
Our AI Journey
We’ve been on the AI journey for a couple of years now, and it’s now part of how we engineer. This year, we’ve been privileged to share our journey with industry peers across Australia, including how we’re using AI to help our clients be more efficient:
- Longwall Conference, 18-19 March 2025
- Mining Electrical and Safety Conference (MESC), 2-4 June 2025
- Austmine METS Exchange—Smarter Processing event in Perth, 1 October 2025
- Austmine METS Exchange—Autonomous Shift in Brisbane, 13 November 2025
At each event, our message remains the same: the future of engineering belongs to those who combine human expertise with digital intelligence.
Looking ahead
We’re still early in this journey, however the results are already clear. AI is delivering measurable efficiency gains, improving safety, and freeing engineers to do what they do best: solve complex problems.
At Waterline, we believe that fortune favours the early adopters. By embracing AI now, we’re not just preparing for the future of mining, we’re building it.
