IMPLEMENTATION OF HUMAN‑SUBSTITUTING TECHNOLOGIES IN UKRAINE’S MINING AND METALLURGICAL INDUSTRY: FACTORS AND OBSTACLES

Abstract

The article examines the conditions, drivers and obstacles to introducing human‑substituting technologies in Ukraine’s mining and metallurgical industry under the pressures of full‑scale war, structural labour shortages, stricter environmental regulation and intensified competition. Human‑substituting technologies—mechanisation, automation, robotics, digitalisation and AI augmentation—are identified as key tools for ensuring production continuity, boosting productivity and maintaining long‑term competitiveness. The industry faces a persistent workforce deficit caused by demographic decline, mobilisation, forced migration and emigration, making technological substitution an objective necessity. Additional challenges arise from the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, rising energy and raw‑material costs and tougher environmental demands, which increase the need for productivity‑enhancing and decarbonisation‑oriented transformation. The study highlights favourable factors for implementing such technologies: economic (labour scarcity, wage growth, resource‑intensive production, competitive pressures), social (inclusion of women, older workers, people with disabilities), technological (IIoT, digital twins, predictive analytics, robotics, AI‑based control) and investment opportunities linked to recovery programmes. Key barriers include high investment costs, organisational difficulties in restructuring value chains, shortages of engineering and digital skills and limited managerial and societal readiness for automation. Vertical integration, despite sensitivity to disruptions, provides advantages for coordinated modernisation, unified standards, integrated information systems and workforce reskilling. The study notes the gap between rising demand for automation‑related skills and declining interest in STEM education. It concludes that human‑substituting technologies should be viewed not as a threat to employment but as a strategic tool to preserve human potential, enhance safety, expand inclusion and support intensive economic growth.