Australia's Rio Tinto mine has been thrust in the spot light of mainstream media after it found an extremely rare pink diamond, weighing in at 12.76 carats, Australia's biggest ever rough pink diamond. 

Of course the mine is uncovering pink diamonds frequently, with 90% of the world's pink diamonds found in the very same mine. It is the record-breaking size that has caught the attention of the global media. 

But the Rio Tinto mine has recently caught the attention of those in the automation industry for a different reason. It has just announced massive expansion in its Mine of the Future programme, in which IT is used to drive automated exploration and production. 

The company is due to spend $518 million (£327 million) on full automated, driverless trains. The first driverless trains are predicted to begin work in 2014 adding to the already operating range of computer operated devices including trucks and drills. 

Plans are also in place for partly automated shaft and tunnel boring systems and autonomous production drills. The CEO of the mine, Tom Albanese, says the changes are to enable Rio Tinto to keep pace with growing demands for commodities. However, locals are fearful of the changes, as they will result in a loss of low and mid-level jobs. 

All this news of automation casts more light on this growing industry. For example, RS Online, the world's leading high service distributor of electronics and maintenance products serves 1.6 million customers worldwide and this number is growing. Its product base is also expanding. Currently RS Online distributes 550,000 products from cable connectors through to electric motors. 

Automation goes beyond mere mechanisation. It doesn't just give us the machinery with which to make things, it makes them for us. The Rio Tinto mine is a perfect example of how control systems and information technologies are removing the risk of human error and speeding up the production process. 

Jobs may be lost in the operating stages, but more technical roles need to be filled in IT and mechanics. Just like cable connectors, there are many jobs that need filling on the way before the process can be fully automated and for constant innovation, such as that seen in Australia, man power is need to develop new technologies and build these technologies. To find out more about the Rio Tinto mine's Mine of the Future programme, read here.