For years, the conversation around rebuilding manufacturing in the United States has focused on factories, chips, and electric vehicles. But according to Turner Caldwell, a former Tesla engineer, people are missing something much more fundamental: the raw materials that make all of that possible.
After spending nearly a decade working at Tesla, Caldwell realized that while innovation was happening at the product level, the very beginning of the supply chain — mining and refining metals — was still operating in ways that hadn’t changed much in decades. So in 2024, he decided to leave Tesla and start something new: Mariana Minerals.
His goal is ambitious but simple to understand — produce more refined metals domestically and modernize how mines operate using software, automation, and artificial intelligence.
The real bottleneck isn’t manufacturing — it’s materials
Caldwell believes that the biggest risk to Western manufacturing isn’t the ability to build products. It’s the ability to secure enough refined metals like copper and lithium.
Modern industries such as EVs, renewable energy, data centers, and defense systems depend heavily on these materials. Copper alone is essential for electricity infrastructure, batteries, and electronics. Yet the U.S. still imports a large share of its refined copper due to limited domestic processing capacity.
Instead of just building software for mining companies, Caldwell wants Mariana to become a vertically integrated company that actually owns and operates mines while also developing the technology to run them better.
As he sees it, the real opportunity isn’t selling software — it's producing the metal itself.
Turning an old copper mine into a “mine of the future”
Mariana Minerals took a major step toward this vision by acquiring a previously idle copper mine in Utah (called Copper One) in 2025. The company is now transforming it into what it calls an “autonomy-first” mining operation.
Unlike traditional mining upgrades that take years to implement, Mariana is trying to redesign operations from the ground up using automation systems, predictive software, and machine learning.
The idea is to treat the mine less like a traditional industrial site and more like a technology platform.
Instead of relying on manual coordination, spreadsheets, and radio communication, Mariana is developing its own operating platform called MineOS. This system is designed to manage everything from truck routing to production planning using real-time data.
Autonomous trucks arrive at the site
As part of this transformation, Mariana recently partnered with autonomous vehicle startup Pronto to deploy self-driving haulage trucks at the Utah mine.
These trucks aren’t meant for public roads. Instead, they operate inside controlled mining environments where they transport ore and materials between sites. The interesting part is that Pronto’s driving technology will be directly integrated into Mariana’s MineOS platform.
This means the software won’t just drive trucks — it will also decide:
- Where trucks should go
- When they should move
- How routes should be optimized
- How to coordinate them with other machines
In other words, the mine begins to function more like an automated logistics network than a traditional excavation site.
The deal also marks one of the first moves involving robotics startup Atoms, founded by Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick, which recently acquired Pronto as part of its push into industrial automation.
Why mining hasn’t modernized as fast as other industries
Caldwell compares today’s mining giants to legacy automakers before Tesla disrupted the auto industry.
His argument is straightforward: most mining companies haven’t had strong incentives to change. If operations meet production targets, there’s little pressure to overhaul systems that already work — even if they are inefficient.
But he believes this mindset is becoming dangerous.
One major problem is the shrinking mining workforce. Fewer young engineers are entering the field while experienced workers retire. This creates a situation where mines must increase productivity with fewer people.
Automation, according to Caldwell, isn’t about replacing workers — it’s about making it possible to keep operating at all.
AI could eventually run entire mining operations
Mariana’s long-term vision goes beyond autonomous trucks. The company is building multiple software layers that could eventually coordinate the entire mining process.
This includes using reinforcement learning — a form of AI where systems improve through experience — to optimize decisions such as:
- Drilling patterns
- Material movement
- Processing efficiency
- Energy usage
- Maintenance timing
Caldwell compares this future to how DeepMind’s AlphaGo shocked the world by making strategic moves humans had never considered.
His belief is that with enough operational data, AI systems could discover efficiencies that human operators simply cannot see yet.
Why Mariana still believes humans matter
Despite all the focus on automation, Caldwell says the goal isn’t to eliminate people from mining.
Instead, he argues automation could actually create more jobs by making previously unprofitable mines viable again.
If automation reduces operating costs and improves efficiency, more mines could reopen. That could increase demand for engineers, technicians, and software specialists rather than reduce it.
As he puts it, the real goal is productivity — not cost cutting.
A bigger vision than just one mine
While Mariana may eventually license its mining software to other companies, Caldwell says that was never the primary objective.
He believes companies that truly want to transform industries need to control both the technology and the physical operations.
He compares this thinking to SpaceX. The company didn’t become successful by selling rocket landing software to NASA — it succeeded by building rockets and launch systems itself.
Mariana is following a similar philosophy: build the technology, own the assets, and control the full value chain.
The bigger trend: software is coming to heavy industry
What Mariana Minerals represents is part of a much larger shift. For decades, software disrupted industries like media, retail, and finance. Now it’s starting to transform heavy industries such as mining, construction, and energy.
The next wave of innovation may not come from apps or social platforms — but from companies applying AI and automation to the physical world.
If Caldwell’s bet works, the mines of the future may look less like industrial sites and more like autonomous data-driven systems quietly producing the raw materials behind the global economy.