Digital transformation in the mining sectors has reshaped the traditional structure of resource exploitation and raised new legal questions. Digital technologies — including data‑driven systems, artificial intelligence, the industrial Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain‑based infrastructures — affect the legal requirements governing the exploitation of mineral and hydrocarbon resources in the Iranian legal system. The central question is whether existing legal frameworks, built on physical supervision, classical liability regimes, and traditional contractual mechanisms, can address the demands of data‑driven governance and intelligent operations or require fundamental restructuring. Using an analytical‑comparative approach, the study shows that digitalization has introduced concepts such as data ownership and sovereignty, algorithmic liability, industrial cybersecurity, smart regulation, and self‑executing contracts into the core of legal governance. Despite ongoing digital transformation policies, the Iranian legal system still lacks a coherent framework for data‑driven regulation in extractive industries. Transition toward “smart exploitation” requires structural reforms in laws, regulatory institutions, and contractual models.