(Kitco News) - Mining executives are sounding the alarm regarding qualified workers.
More and more CEOs are not able to hire qualified workers, which slows project completion and hikes costs.
In an October study of the Canadian resources space, PwC called the labor shortage an “existential” threat.
“The mining industry needs skilled employees and faces an existential talent shortage, but to attract talent it must change perceptions about the industry,” writes PwC authors in its survey of the resource sector.
The cyclical nature of the industry has kept people away. Mining sheds workers during commodity down cycles, which makes the work uncertain. The resource sector also has a perception problem.
“Our nation requires an inclusive, skilled workforce for a competitive mineral exploration sector,” said Ryan Montpellier, Executive Director of the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) of Canada. “Canada’s minerals and metals play an essential role in the energy transition, yet a lack of youth awareness and interest in mining, coupled with decreasing enrolment trends for undergraduate degrees like geosciences – decreasing by approximately 42% from 2014 to 2020, or 4,800 to only 2,800 enrolments – are likely to lead to tight labor markets and labor shortages due to the dwindling number of students entering this profession.”
In a survey MiHIR found that a majority of Canadians aged 15 to 30 said they would definitely or probably not consider a career in mining.
Lack of talent is hitting miners’ bottom lines. Mining has been hampered by cost overruns. High costs can be blamed on lack of workers, said Jorge Ganoza, president & CEO of Fortuna Silver Mines (TSX:FVI). Ganoza spoke to Kitco Mining at the 33rd BMO Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals Conference 2024 in Hollywood, Florida.
"This industry has a lot of bottlenecks, and talent is certainly one of them," said Ganoza. "We are all under pressure. That's why we see blowouts on capital projects. The shortages are not just on equipment and tires. When the expansion comes, it is the talent."
Barrick CEO Mark Bristow said mining has under-invested in its people.
“You've got to have great geologists, and to have great geology. You’ve got to invest in your people,” said Bristow who was interviewed by Kitco Mining at the BMO conference. He said that Barrick has launched its own development program for workers.
Managing director of Apollo Exploration, Ian Ball, said that miners are leaning into automation and innovation to overcome the talent hurdle.
“We used to log core with geologists,” said Ball. “Now we are using lasers to log the core, so we are filling this void not with more personnel but with technology, and I think that is the direction the sector is going to go.”
“The sector keeps asking: ‘Where are we going to get these new people?’ It looks like we are not going to get them, so technology is going to have to take that roll to keep the sector moving forward.”
