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Breaking Barriers in Mining: Normet Xrock and Remion Pioneer Autonomous Rock Breaking

Shaping the Future of Rock Flow

In the depths of mining operations, rock breaking has always been one of the toughest challenges. Dangerous, unpredictable, and often a bottleneck that slows everything down, it has long demanded human skill in environments where safety is never guaranteed.

Normet Xrock, a global leader in rock-breaking solutions, set out to change that story. With its Xrock product line of breaker booms and advanced attachments, the company envisioned a future where technology could take on the danger, leaving people free to focus on higher-value work. The bold ambition: to create the world’s first autonomous rock-breaking system.

From Expertise to Innovation

Normet Xrock, formerly known as Rambooms, has over 30 years of engineering heritage in rock-breaking. By combining this experience with Normet’s global strength in underground processes, Xrock delivers complete, integrated rock-breaking solutions for mining and construction. Their breaker booms, specialized attachments, and automation systems are trusted to keep ore flowing in the toughest environments, improving safety, productivity, and reliability for customers around the world. normet.com.

But Xrock’s ambition reaches further. In critical operations where rock flow can make or break productivity, Normet Xrock set out to achieve something never done before: an autonomous rock-breaking system.

A Partnership to Push Boundaries

Making such a leap required more than mechanical innovation. It needed intelligence, connectivity, and control systems that could work seamlessly together. For this, Normet Xrock partnered with Remion.

What began as a collaboration quickly became a shared mission. Remion brought its expertise in IoT, autonomy, and industrial software to the project, laying the digital foundation that would make autonomy possible. Together, the teams set out to reimagine rock breaking — not as a hazardous manual task, but as a safe, continuous, and intelligent process.

“Rock breaking is one of the most hazardous and productivity-critical activities in mining,” the Normet Xrock team reflects. “By making it autonomous, we could both remove people from danger and keep ore flowing continuously.”

Turning Vision Into Reality

The journey from idea to innovation unfolded in carefully staged steps. Early prototypes ran in simulated environments, proving that a system could see and decide how to break boulders. As the project progressed, simulations gave way to real-world testing with 3D cameras, calibration pipelines, and live demonstrations at the Xrock Xperience Technology Centre in Lahti.

It was here that autonomy truly came to life. Customers and partners gathered for the first Autobreaker Day demonstrations, witnessing history: a rock breaker operating entirely on its own, safely and efficiently clearing grizzlies without direct human involvement.

Redefining Safety and Productivity

The Autobreaker represents more than a technological breakthrough — it marks a new standard for mining. Operators are no longer exposed to hazardous environments. Ore flow continues without interruptions. Equipment operates smarter and lasts longer. And with connectivity to the cloud, mining companies gain insights that were never before possible.

What makes the solution even more powerful is its scalability. Customers can begin with assisted functions and move step by step toward autonomy. This flexibility makes adoption faster and more practical, ensuring that mines of all sizes can take part in the transformation.

A New Era for Mining

From the outset, Normet Xrock and Remion designed the project with the future in mind. The Xrock’s Technology Centre Xperience is not just a test facility, but a showcase of what autonomy means for mining. Here, customers can see live demonstrations, build trust in the technology, and prepare their workforce for the next era of operations.

“The collaboration between Normet Xrock and Remion has transformed autonomous rock breaking from a vision into a commercial reality, setting a new industry standard for safety, productivity, and innovation,” the teams emphasize.

And this is only the beginning. With plans to expand autonomy to raking, stirring, and beyond, Normet Xrock and Remion are continuing their journey to unlock safer, smarter, and more sustainable mining. The world’s first autonomous rock-breaking system is not just a milestone — it’s the start of a new chapter for the industry.