The phenomenon of unemployment is characteristic of almost all developed countries, and the issues of unemployment regulation remain the most important at the macro and micro levels of public policy. Unemployment is one of the most important indicators of the general state of a country's economy. The authors of the article drew a connection between the unemployment rate in Russia and European countries and the state of economic and national security of the states. Pyramids of the security levels of Russia and the EU countries are proposed. The characteristics of the labour market of the European countries and the Russian Federation are considered with an emphasis on the diversity of the regions. It has been established that the unemployment rate in the developed countries is connected with the processes of globalisation and digitalisation, with the geopolitical situation, and can be an economic trigger that has provoked fundamental changes in the modern labour market, the state of human capital and social tensions in the world countries. A number of universal measures are proposed to strengthen the national and economic security of countries.

The peculiarity of oil and gas projects is their long implementation period, during which they are subject to the influence of a large number of different risk factors that complicate project implementation and result in failure to achieve the planned economic indicators set by investors. The effective operation of companies therefore depends on how reliably investors can predict the prospects for project development. The success of the subsequent functioning of the investment project depends to a large extent on the reliability of the assessment of the effectiveness of the investment project, based on the optimally chosen strategy of its development, and, above all, on the anticipation of possible risk factors and tools for their prevention. Therefore, at present, the competitive struggle in the oil and gas production industry is currently shifting to the area of pre-project preparation of investment projects and increasing the reliability (quality) of their economic efficiency assessment at the stage of making a decision to start their implementation.

Geological risks become important in the implementation of exploration projects, the first stage in the overall process of developing the Company's assets.  It is necessary to find a balance between the cost of project implementation and the amount of accumulated hydrocarbons for the forecast period, which will ensure maximum profitability of the project. The challenge to optimize the financial outlay on the implementation of geological exploration works by focusing on the most promising and important projects for companies becomes relevant. In this regard, the article considers the methodological approaches proposed by the author to assess the risks of exploration with the aim of improving the efficiency of the planning process and reducing inefficient financial costs.

The article examines studying the relationship between the level of innovation in different countries and the efficiency of their resource use, in order to better understand the potential impact of increased adoption of new technologies on the responsible use of resources in the future. Two country’s samples were created for the study: the first includes 36 world economies, with calculations of energy and labour resource use efficiency, taking into account the size of the economy and the level of innovation achieved; the second sample includes data on the material footprint of 121 countries, along with levels of innovation and economic development. The empirical confirmation of the hypothesis that there is a relationship between the level of economic innovation achieved and the efficiency of resource use is a key finding. Furthermore, the results of the correlation analysis indicate a direct and close relationship between a country’s economic innovativeness and its consumption volume of natural resources. This relationship can be described by a linear function. The analysis also confirms that as the population’s welfare and economic innovativeness grow, the state’s material footprint increases. The study is of theoretical and practical importance, encouraging the improvement of tools to ensure innovative development based on responsible production and consumption of resources. This approach aims to achieve better results at the same cost. Identifying the necessary factors related to innovative activity and efficient resource use by enterprises, as well as establishing functional dependencies between these variables, represent prospective areas for further research. In addition, a detailed examination of the experiences of Russian companies and their implications regional differentiation in terms of innovation and resource efficiency is a logical next step.

The need to digitalise economic sectors in today’s world is perceived as an objective reality. In the circulation of precious metals, precious stones and their products, the digitalisation process is at a fairly high level, with continuous improvement. The article analyses the progress made in achieving the goals of the implementation of the State Integrated Information System in the Sphere of Control over the Circulation of Precious Metals and Precious Stones at all stages (GIIS DMDK), which is the main project of digitalisation of the industry.

The relationship between product and process innovation and financial performance remains largely unexplored, especially for Russian firms. An analysis of publications on this topic shows both a positive and a negative relationship. At the same time, there are no empirical studies based on Russian companies. This study was conducted on the basis of empirical data from 137 Russian companies. The study shows that investment in R&D has a positive effect on the financial results of the company; and the financial results of the companies depend on the type of innovation (product or process) that the companies carry out.

Conducting R&D and scientific research related to product and process innovations can increase the profitability of sales, which characterises the financial results of Russian companies.  In addition, it was concluded that the relationship between process innovations and financial results is stronger than the relationship between product innovations and financial results, which means that it is more profitable to develop and implement process innovations.

The article examines the impact of Digital Twins on the business processes of mining companies. Mining companies can optimise their operations, from stripping and mining to enrichment and transportation. By modelling different scenarios, identifying bottlenecks and making informed decisions, companies can improve resource efficiency, reduce downtime and increase productivity, making a positive impact on their operational efficiency. Predictive maintenance strategies implemented with the help of Digital Twins help increase efficiency by minimising unexpected equipment failures and maximising uptime.

The main technological effects of the use of Digital Twins in the mining industry, which affect the operational efficiency of the company, are: (1) an increase in the volume of output of commercial products after coal enrichment; (2) an increase in the coefficient of output to the production line of mining equipment.

These effects lead to an improvement in the operating efficiency of the mining company, which increases indicators such as EBITDA and cash balance at the end of the period. This impact on operating efficiency is achieved by increasing the volume of commercial products, improving the efficiency of production processes, and by reducing the fixed and operating costs of the business.

In order to assess the impact of the use of Digital Twin technology on mining companies, a methodology has been developed to assess the impact of the use of Digital Twin technology on mining companies. According to the results of the survey, a number of key production processes have been identified where the introduction of a Digital Twin is expected to have an impact.

As a result of the empirical study, the expected increase in EBITDA from the implementation of the Digital Twin was 28%, the actual increase in EBITDA over the study period was 21%. The expected increase in free cash at the end of the period was + 593 million rubles (+130%), the actual increase in free cash for the period under study was 441 million rubles (+96%).

The introduction of Digital Twins in mining companies has shown great potential for improving operational efficiency and solving complex challenges facing the industry.