Cutting assembly

A rock cutting assembly 10 comprising a base unit 12, one or more moveable support arms 14 extending from the base unit, a drive spindle 16 mounted to the or each moveable support arm, a disk cutter (18, Fig 5) fixed around the drive spindle that rotates when the spindle rotates, the disk cutter comprising a cutter body (20, Fig 5) and one or more cutting elements (22, Fig 5) arranged peripherally around the cutter body, the cutting assembly further comprising one or more sensors for detecting one or more conditions of the cutting elements or of the surrounding environments. Preferably the sensor is embedded or integrated into the cutter body. Preferably the sensor is configured to monitor chemistry of the cutting conditions. Preferably the sensor is selected from any of the following: temperature sensor, pressure sensor, X-ray sensor, gamma ray sensor, an accelerometer. Preferably the cutting assembly comprises a vision camera system for monitoring conditions and to identify the rock formation or materials for extraction.