Europe urgently needs to reduce its import dependency in respect to a multitude of raw materials. In order to do so, Europe’s mining industry must completely redesign the process of traditional mining via the adoption of pioneering innovations, accompanied by extensive use of data analytics and new types of industrial IoT (IIoT). The EU-funded illuMINEation project will highlight significant aspects of digitalisation in underground mining activities with the aim of achieving highest possible levels of safety, environmental and economic performance. The project will establish a robust multi-level distributed IIoT platform based on large sensor networks featuring wireless communication capabilities. Advanced user interfaces, dashboards and AR/VR applications will allow for an optimised information flow. A rigorous cybersecurity approach will ensure that all data is properly protected.