A Major Miner Problem

@media ( min-width: 728px ){.newspack_global_ad.global_above_header{min-height: 90px;}} Close Search for: Search Close About Sections Topics Climate Earth Science Oceans Space & Planets Health & Ecosystems Culture & Policy Education & Careers Opinions Projects ENGAGE Editors' Highlights Editors' Vox The Landslide Blog Eos en Español Eos 简体中文版 Print Archive Newsletter Submit to Eos Skip to content Menu .site-header .custom-logo{height: 74px;max-height: 540px;max-width: 600px;width: 145px;}@media (max-width: 781px){.site-header .custom-logo{max-width: 127px;max-height: 65px;}}@media (min-width: 782px){.h-stk:not(.h-sub) .site-header .custom-logo{max-height: 90px;max-width: 176px;}.h-sub .site-header .custom-logo{max-width: 118px;max-height: 60px;}}@media (max-width: 1199px) and (min-width: 782px){.h-stk.h-cl:not(.h-sub) .site-header .custom-logo{max-width: 100%;width: auto;}} Eos Science News by AGU Sign Up for Newsletter Menu Open Search Search for: Search Posted in Features A Major Miner Problem Economic geology, mining, and mineral resources programs are working to meet the needs of an industry that's struggling to find employees—at a time when some say they're needed more than ever. by Emily Dieckman 19 December 2024 20 December 2024 Share this: Click to print (Opens in new window) Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) Credit: Alia Rahma/Pexels The summer of 1969 was approaching, and Priscilla Nelson, a self-proclaimed "hippie chick," had a muddy decision to make: attend Woodstock or go to geology field camp. Now Ore Never .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title{font-size: 1.2em;}.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta{display: flex;flex-wrap: wrap;align-items: center;margin-top: 0.5em;}.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta{font-size: 0.8em;}.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar{height: 25px;width: 25px;}.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail{margin: 0;margin-bottom: 0.25em;}.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail img{height: auto;width: 100%;}.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail figcaption{margin-bottom: 0.5em;}.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles p{margin: 0.5em 0;} A Major Miner Problem Here's Why Resolution Copper Wants to Mine Oak Flat Earthquakes May Lace Quartz Veins with Gold Iron-Rich Volcanoes Hold Hidden Rare Earth Element Reserves Democratizing Science in the Cloud Digging Deep In the end, she chose rocks over rock 'n' roll. It was an exciting era for geology, with the theory of plate tectonics only starting to gain wide acceptance. The upcoming Apollo 11 mission promised to give the world a new perspective on the rock we call home, and Nelson loved being let loose on a plot of land to map geologic features—just her and the rocks. Nelson went on to a career spanning engineering, academia, and government and is currently a professor of mining engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. As her career rose, the reputation of the mining industry—particularly in the United States and Canada—sank. Nelson, who also was a Peace Corps volunteer in the 1970s, suggested that this souring public attitude may have been related to a rise in concerns about the environment. The 1970s brought the National Environmental Policy Act , which required U.S. federal agencies to assess proposals' environmental impacts, and the Clean Water Act , which regulated water quality and the release of pollutants. Before she was a mining engineering professor, Priscilla Nelson was a "hippie chick," seen here volunteering for the Peace Corps in Ecuador in the 1970s. Credit: Priscilla Nelson "The '70s were [when] we saw the blue marble of the Earth in the sky and realized the finiteness of everything," Nelson said. Mining, to many, seemed contrary to this spirit of treating Earth's resources as precious. Declining public sentiment, stricter regulations, and reduced ore grades in the United States led mining companies to take much of their operations outside the country—especially to poorer nations where they could pay lower wages and face fewer environmental and health regulations, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo—and the United States to simply import minerals from countries such as China and Mexico. Though the domestic mining industry says it has made strides to treat the environment with more care, it's facing an increasingly urgent recruitment problem. The number of mining engineering programs at U.S. colleges and universities has fallen from 25 in 1982 to 14 today. Mining graduations in the United States dropped by 39% between 2006 and 2023. In 2022, 71% of mining leaders reported in a McKinsey & Company survey that the shortage of workers was preventing them from meeting production targets and strategic objectives. At a workshop hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and supported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2024, Vlad Kecojevic , secretary general of the Society of Mining Professors , noted that only 162 students earned mining engineering degrees in the United States in 2023. That's not enough to keep pace with an estimated employment demand of 400–600 graduates per year. A 2023 report by Deloitte found that nearly 50% of skilled engineers in the mining sector will reach retirement within a decade. "For many years that went by, we kind of, as an industry, recycled all our old miners," said Bill Bieber , executive director of the Mining and Petroleum Training Service at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. "And one day we woke up and looked around and went, 'We're all old. Where's the new generation?'" Why Mine? "You can't have a modern standard of living without mining, and we mine more now than at any other point in human history," said Simon Jowitt , an economic geologist at the University of Nevada, Reno. Mined minerals are in our buildings, roads, vehicles, pipes, electronics, cosmetics, furniture, appliances, and more. Cell phones contain at least a dozen minerals . It's not only current technologies that need mineral resources, mining experts argue, but also those of the future: Renewable energy technology, including solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles, needs elements such as silicon, cobalt, lithium, manganese, copper, and rare earth elements such as neodymium and praseodymium. This newsletter rocks. Get the most fascinating science news stories of the week in your inbox every Friday. Sign up now A 2022 White House briefing noted that global demand for critical minerals is expected to rise 400%–600% over the next several decades. The United Nations Trade and Development Board projected in a 2024 report that to achieve net zero emissions by 2030, the world will need approximately 80 new copper mines, 70 new lithium and nickel mines each, and 30 new cobalt mines. When experts—such as the nearly 150 who gathered at the 2024 National Academies workshop—discuss the workforce problem, they often mention ideas for how the federal government could support the mining industry, both financially and organizationally. But the effort isn't limited to the government. Across the country, U.S. educational institutions are working to remedy the mining workforce problem by addressing several barriers: a lack of awareness about the role of mining in modern life, perceived demands and inconveniences of a mining career, and negative public opinion of the industry. Students test underground robotics in the Colorado School of Mines' Edgar Experimental Mine. Credit: Colorado School of Mines Knowing Squat Many people who work in or study mining or geology are emphatically aware of the role minerals play in everyday life. Sterling Ferguson , an economic geology undergraduate at the University of Nevada, Reno, grew up in an area of northeastern Nevada where mining is prevalent. "I've been surrounded by mining my entire life," he said. "I grew up, like, 'Everybody works in a mine. The world needs mining.'" Kwame Awuah-Offei , a professor of mining engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), said that when he was growing up in Ghana, people there were more aware of mining. As a major part of the country's economy, mining is often in the news, he said. But not everyone has the same awareness. In most of the United States, industries larger than mining, such as Google or Apple, tend to dominate headlines. "Unless something bad happens," Awuah-Offei said. "Then mining is in the news." In a survey of 344 random students at the University of Arizona, 67% said they had "little to no knowledge of mining at all." The state was the top producer of nonfuel minerals in the United States in 2023, according to a USGS report . "It's just something that a lot of people just have no idea is out there," said Lynnette Hutson , a Ph.D. student in mining and geological engineering at the University of Arizona who worked in the mining industry for a decade prior to starting her degree. "When students know about mining, they start to think it's cool. The problem is they usually know squat about it." "When students know about mining, they start to think it's cool," said Isabel Barton , a mining and geological engineer and associate professor at the University of Arizona. "The problem is, they usually know squat about it." Mining's proponents believe that raising public awareness about the industry's role in modern life is key to fostering interest in related careers. Many say this effort needs to start earlier. Nelson, the Colorado School of Mines professor, lamented that elementary and middle school curricula rarely include information about Earth resources. High school isn't much different , and Nelson acknowledged that changing graduation requirements is no simple task. For now, she suggested high schools could offer an Advanced Placement course that students could take remotely to earn certificates in Earth resources management and potentially high school or even college credit. At the college level, some universities and individual faculty are working to educate students about the importance of mining. Barton created a YouTube series called How Minerals Made Civilization , which examines the role mineral resources have played in defining the course of history. She teaches a course listed in both the mining and geological engineering and anthropology departments on the same topic. The University of Arizona's School of Mining and Mineral Resources offers classes, K–12 outreach, and research funding to prepare people in a range of disciplines—including environmental engineering, law, and hydrology—for the mineral resources workforce. The Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Foundation's Minerals Education Coalition exists to educate the broader community and K–12 students about the role of mined materials in everyday life. For example, it created an infographic highlighting the estimated amount of minerals, metals, and fuels an American born in 2024 will use in their lifetime: 3.06 million pounds (1.4 million kilograms). Visions of Shovels and Pickaxes Even when people are aware of the role of mining in their everyday lives, they don't always want to join the profession. Working as a mining engineer often means working at a rural mine. Some engineers choose to live in the relatively small communities near mine sites, whereas other spend hours a day commuting from larger cities. A travel-heavy work schedule can make it difficult to start a family. Living in a rural community can compound issues employees of any sector might face, such as difficulty finding childcare, Hutson said. Limited employment opportunities for spouses can be another problem. However, such perks as a 4-day workweek, which Hutson had at most of her industry jobs, help to offset inconveniences and make personal travel easier. Though it's not for everyone, she said she finds mining to be an interesting field with good pay. (As of May 2023, the median annual wage was $100,640 for mining and geological engineers according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics .) "If the industry wants to attract and keep talented and skilled people, then I think we need to think about how best to help those people have a good work-life balance." "If you're kind of technically minded, there's a lot of interesting, challenging roles that can be pretty rewarding," Hutson said. Jowitt, the economic geologist, suggested building on these perks by borrowing tactics from other industries. As a traveling nurse practitioner, Jowitt's wife is often away from home, but she ultimately works fewer days than Jowitt does and makes about the same salary he does as a tenured professor. Benefits such as airline miles don't hurt either. "If the industry wants to attract and keep talented and skilled people, then I think we need to think about how best to help those people have a good work-life balance," he said. When it comes to attracting skilled workers, some programs are focused on making training more accessible. The Mining and Petroleum Training Service teaches students hands-on skills at remote mining camps. The surface mine course is 2 weeks long, and the underground mine course lasts 6 weeks: 2 weeks in an underground classroom, 2 weeks off, and 2 weeks of hands-on experience in a mine. No prior experience is required, and state funding is available to Alaska residents. Graduation attendees tour the Mining and Petroleum Training Service's Underground Mine Training Center facility off the Alaska Highway outside Delta Junction in 2022. Credit: UAF photo by Eric Engman Most of the students attending aren't considering traditional secondary education, said Bieber, the program's director. Many are underemployed and have families, and the short length of the program makes it possible for them to attend. Mining companies even pay a stipend to help some students cover bills while they're in class. In the underground mining program, students learn skills that range from operating jackleg drills and underground muckers to soft skills such as teamwork and cross-cultural communication. "You're operating a million-dollar haul truck with a pressurized cab and air-conditioning and backup cameras. It's a very different mining world than it used to be." "We drill and blast and muck, all of the things that these students are going to be doing on the job," Bieber said. They're grabbed up at graduation by employers, if not before. He added that the program allows students to update their perception of mining, which, before the training camps, might include visions of sledgehammers, shovels, and pickaxes. "You're operating a million-dollar haul truck with a pressurized cab and air-conditioning and backup cameras," he said. "It's a very different mining world than it used to be." So far, the mining camps have trained more than 560 people, 40% of whom are Alaska Natives or members of other minoritized groups. Bieber estimated that about half are women. Two years after being hired, about 87% of people who completed the program are still with the company that hired them. A Legacy of Harm Perhaps the biggest factor affecting the mining workforce pipeline is the industry's reputation. Many view it primarily as an entity that causes pollution, puts profit over people, and takes advantage of communities. Such criticisms aren't unfounded. A 2011 report from the Government Accountability Office determined that of at least 161,000 abandoned hard rock mines in the 12 Western states and Alaska alone, at least 33,000 had degraded the environment. In 2019, the Associated Press analyzed records from 43 contaminated federal mining sites and reported that on average, more than 50 million gallons (189 million liters ) of toxic wastewater flows into ponds and streams each day. Roughly 20 million gallons (76 million liters) of it is left untreated. Lithium mining, which often occurs in the drought-stricken Southwest, requires billions of gallons of water. And catastrophic incidents such as tailings dam failures can not only wreak havoc on the environment but also cause deaths. "I have never considered a career in mining because I am driven to restore degraded land, not play an active role in degrading it." Mark Samolej, an undergraduate studying restoration ecology at Colorado State University (CSU), wrote in an email to Eos that he sees mining at the scale it is done currently as a "bane to the things I care most about." Samolej is the vice president of the CSU chapter of the student-run Society for Ecological Restoration. "My perception of careers in mining specifically are that they are historically high risk, physically demanding, and ecologically destructive," he wrote. "I have never considered a career in mining because I am driven to restore degraded land, not play an active role in degrading it." Moreover, U.S. mining companies have historically developed sites on Indigenous lands or in poorer nations, often without the consent or input of communities. Many Indigenous groups and environmental advocates have resisted this development and pushed companies to adjust their practices. Some have even taken the federal government to court. Today multiple groups are fighting construction of new operations such as the Resolution Copper Mine in central Arizona, which members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe say threatens to destroy sacred land. The Resolution Copper Mine is next to the town of Superior, Ariz. Credit: zeesstof/Flickr , CC BY­-SA 2.0 Others argue that the industry has worked to improve its practices. Resolution Copper's website claims that after hundreds of consultations with Native American tribes, the company changed the project scope to avoid areas with the greatest cultural significance. Major companies such as Freeport-McMoRan and the Newmont Corporation release annual sustainability reports, highlighting efforts to financially support communities affected by mining operations, improve safety and efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and recycle water. Many academic institutions are conducting research into and offering education on the same areas. Examples include the University of Arizona's Center for Environmentally Sustainable Mining , Montana Technological University's Center for Environmental Remediation and Assessment , Missouri S&T's graduate certificate in sustainability in mining , and the University of Alaska Fairbanks's natural resources and sustainability Ph.D. program. The Colorado School of Mines Payne Institute's Native American Mining and Energy Sovereignty Initiative (NAMES) works to help Indigenous communities find financial success, energy security, and sovereignty in the energy transition. The initiative's projects include creating a scholarship for Native American students studying at the school and developing a fund to support research into energy and minerals development as they relate to tribes, in collaboration with tribes and Tribal Colleges and Universities . Rick Tallman , who is managing the undertaking, described NAMES as "not a pro-mining initiative, [but] a pro-knowledge initiative." Understanding mining, he suggested, is key for tribal communities to make decisions about the practice on their lands—whether that means fighting mining efforts or exploring and taking ownership of mineral development opportunities. According to MSCI data , 68% of cobalt, 89% of copper, 79% of lithium, and 97% of nickel reserves are located within 35 miles (56 kilometers) of Native American reservations. "It's a fresh opportunity for tribes, for tribal communities, to sort of make their own way and have the money and the resources to actually benefit from resource extraction." Daniel Cardenas , a Pit River Tribe member and the CEO, president, and chairman of the board of the American Indian Infrastructure Association and the National Tribal Energy Association , is a cofounder of the NAMES initiative. Tribal sovereignty, he said, means that all tribes are free to make their own informed decisions, including those related to mining. "I'm a strong believer in not just jobs, but also wealth creation, where [tribal] communities should have the opportunity to create wealth like everybody else in America," he said. "A lot of times, as we move forward, the way for them to do it is through critical minerals. It's a fresh opportunity for tribes, for tribal communities, to sort of make their own way and have the money and the resources to actually benefit from resource extraction." "It seems very likely that Indigenous people all over the world will be the most impacted by extracting all the minerals we need for the energy transition," Tallman said. "But the challenge is that if we don't extract those minerals, and we're not successful in the energy transition, those same people will be the [most greatly] impacted by climate change if we fail. And so it's not an option to just not mine the minerals we need." George Luxbacher , a deputy associate director for mining at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and a former president of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, said he's seen the mining industry make enormous strides in environmental stewardship and technological efficiency over the course of his career. "Everyone's committed to a different path today, yet the perception of the public is still, we do things the way we used to," he said. Mining for a Renewable Future? Many agree that one of the greatest hopes for the mining and minerals industry is for it to show itself to be—and continue making itself—part of the solution to the climate crisis, rather than part of the problem. By studying, researching, or working in mineral resources, students who care about the environment could help improve the industry's environmental and social stewardship from within, Jowitt suggested. Alyssa Lindsey , a master's student in economic geology at the University of Nevada, Reno who worked as a geologist for mining companies for several years, may be one such example. She "didn't know anything about mining, especially mining in the U.S." until she went to Nevada as an undergrad for summer field camp. Alyssa Lindsey, a graduate student in economic geology, toured the Paracatu Mine in Brazil during a Society of Economic Geologists field trip in summer 2024. Credit: Alyssa Lindsey "Since I started working, I have seen the progress that has been made and how environmental protection is truly at the forefront," she wrote in an email. "I learned that we will either be mining metals here or buying them from elsewhere around the world. To me, it seems like the better option is to be involved in the mining process here, where it is strictly regulated." Some are critical of this idea. Roger Featherstone, director of the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition , said he believes the idea that we can "mine our way out of the climate crisis" is flawed logic, noting that many studies showing the world needs more mining than ever are funded by mining companies. Tallman emphasized that to attract talent, the mining industry needs to act in a way that makes young people want to get involved—"not just a spin or an angle, but it needs to be a genuine effort" to treat people and the planet responsibly. Mining proponents say the industry's role in the green energy transition goes beyond mining materials for renewable energy technologies. Repurposing mine waste, for instance, could turn something toxic into clean energy for generations to come. There's also research on how accelerating the weathering of mine tailings could be a way to sequester carbon . "If we could figure out how to do this," Nelson said, "we would have mining and tailings become the savior of the atmosphere." Being a part of an industry that could help power the energy transition, to her, "is like reengaging something that was very fundamentally part of my values back in the late '60s and early '70s," she said. "I'm right smack back into it. So, now, I'm an old hippie chick." —Emily Dieckman ( @emfurd ), Associate Editor This news article is included in our ENGAGE resource for educators seeking science news for their classroom lessons. Browse all ENGAGE articles , and share with your fellow educators how you integrated the article into an activity in the comments section below. Citation:  Dieckman, E. (2024), A major miner problem,  Eos, 105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EO240584 . Published on 19 December 2024. Text © 2024. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited. 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