The mining industry, due to its significant environmental impacts, requires innovative approaches to restore degraded ecosystems. Despite the considerable potential of AI-based smart marketing to enhance stakeholder engagement and optimize resource allocation, limited research has investigated the intersection of sustainable marketing, artificial intelligence, and environmental restoration projects within the mining sector. This study aims to develop a conceptual framework for the application of AI-based smart marketing to improve the effectiveness of environmental restoration projects in the mining industry. Adopting a qualitative and inductive approach, the study employed thematic analysis based on semi-structured interviews with 25 experts, including 15 university professors and 10 industry managers and consultants. The findings identified six overarching themes, comprising 144 basic codes and 24 organizing themes: data-driven analysis and resource optimization, personalization and stakeholder engagement, ethical considerations and sustainability, innovation in marketing technologies, support and participation enhancement, and project efficiency improvement. The principal innovation of this study is an integrated framework that combines artificial intelligence, smart marketing, and environmental restoration in the mining industry. The results indicate that the application of AI, through big data analytics, targeted campaign design, and real-time monitoring, can significantly enhance community participation and project efficiency, thereby.