{"id":1115849,"date":"2019-05-13T22:15:24","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T22:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mining.com\/?p=986945"},"modified":"2019-05-14T00:15:24","modified_gmt":"2019-05-14T00:15:24","slug":"feature-mining-for-millennials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1115849","title":{"rendered":"FEATURE: Mining for Millennials"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been said t<\/span>here is a massive paradigm shift going on in the world\u00a0<\/span>\u2013<\/span>\u00a0a shift that is only slightly perceptible to some\u00a0<\/span>\u2013\u00a0<\/span>but one that is already revolutionizing the mining industry.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Picture an image of a city block at the turn of the 20<\/span>th<\/span>\u00a0century. Horse-drawn carriages fueled by grass and hay were the main method of transportation on dirt roads during the agricultural era. Fast forward a couple of decades and the image changes. Gasoline fueled motorcars on the roads marked the beginning of the fossil fuel era.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, the image is changing again. We are entering the era of electric vehicles (EVs).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The metals needed to make rechargeable batteries are used in everything from\u00a0<\/span>Teslas<\/span>\u00a0to energy storage to iPhones, include\u00a0<\/span>graphite, manganese,\u00a0<\/span>vanadium\u00a0<\/span>nickel, cobalt<\/span>, copper, rare earths and\u00a0<\/span>lithium<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Global demand for these strategic minerals will skyrocket by 2050, according to the World Bank\u2019s\u202f<\/span>updated 2018 projections<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are mining the minerals of the future, and the extraction processes will require more advanced technologies like virtual reality, artificial intelligence, machine learning and\u00a0<\/span>blockchain<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a bridge between the mining and technology industries, but the bridge is being gapped.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0 For this generation, the mining industry is a gem in itself,<\/b>\u202fwaiting to be discovered. There is more than enough room in the industry for millennials to take a seat at the table<\/q><\/span><\/p>\n

The mining industry is undergoing such a huge technology shift, it\u2019s inevitable that its workforce needs to change, but the process has not been seamless.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Deloitte\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Tracking the trends 2019: The top 10 issues transforming the future of mining<\/span><\/i>\u00a0report highlights the need to attract technology experts into the industry. Deloitte is clear about the need for change in the industry to put the future of work into action.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs miners grapple with the challenge of rebuilding their skill base and developing a workforce capable of bringing the industry along the technology pathway it needs to remain competitive, they must find new ways to motivate their workforce,\u201d Deloitte asserts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, the mining industry is not attracting sufficient numbers of diverse candidates to truly move the dial on its diversity and inclusion strategies. To shift this balance, companies will need to change their talent attraction and retention policies,\u201d Deloitte says.\u00a0 \u201cMost critically, miners will struggle to meet their digitization, automation, and innovation goals if they cannot attract what is quickly becoming the most in-demand cohort of talent in the world.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Deloitte highlights what many in mining already know: That the industry is burdened with a perception problem among young people making career choices.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The mining industry faces a massive generational shift in Canada, with 26% of the current workforce expected to retire in the next ten years. To attract young talent, Deloitte argues, companies need to change historical perceptions about the mining industry itself.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

MINING.com<\/span>\u00a0is\u00a0<\/span>the barometer of the mining news industry with\u00a0<\/span>more than 400,000 monthly users.<\/span>\u00a025% of its readers are aged 25-34. 22% are aged 35-44, so 47%, nearly half of its readers are under 45.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rutendo<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Munatsirei<\/span>, former co-op student editorial assistant at MINING.com is completing a Bachelor of Communications at Simon Fraser University. Following her practicum, she published a personal essay:\u00a0<\/span>The Mining Industry: A Millennial\u2019s Perspective.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I look back, I am surprised at how little I knew about the industry coming into it and how much I gained from it,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Munatsirei<\/span>\u00a0writes. \u201cMillennials have grown up in the information age, meaning that our lives are centered on the production and consumption of information, with nothing pointing us back to the raw materials that make up the basic components of our world.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Munatsirei\u00a0describes the cognitive disconnect between the mining industry and the millennial generation, while painting a clear picture of how central mined minerals are to daily life.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWithout lithium\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0<\/span>cobalt, forget your Tesla,\u00a0<\/span>iPhone, laptop<\/span>, and any other fancy gadgets we like to play with. Without zinc and copper forget all modes of transportation. And without copper<\/span>\u00a0or iron ore<\/span>, infrastructure<\/span>\u00a0like bridges and stadiums would be impossible to build<\/span>. Without uranium, coal, natural gas and oil, forget electricity \u2013 well most of it anyway,\u201d she writes.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Most things that we see can trace their origins to a mine somewhere on the planet, but because no one is going out of their way to connect the dots from raw materials to their final product. It seems the best place to hide is always in plain sight.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Munatsirei\u00a0<\/span>feels<\/span>\u00a0the mining industry is not actively looking to recruit talent on university campu<\/span>ses, so students do not consider working in mining because of the lack of exposure.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is quite understandable how the mining industry is left out of the conversations we are having as young people today.\u00a0<\/span>M<\/span>ining continue<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0to look like a like a \u201cgrown-ups\u201d sport instead of the exciting industry I discovered it to be,\u201d she says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span> Mining is global, so if you\u2019ve got a skill set, and you understand what mining is, you\u2019ve got a job anywhere in the world<\/q><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI would argue that for this generation, the mining industry is a gem in itself<\/span>,<\/span><\/b>\u202fwaiting to be discovered,\u201d she says. \u201cThere is more than enough room in the industry for millennials to take a seat at the table. I can safely say that there is so much more to the \u2018game of mines\u2019 than what many people realize, so it is worth taking some time to get to know it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Carlos da Costa, sessional lecturer at the Keevil Institution of Mining Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC), spent y<\/span>e<\/span>ars as a professional in financial markets before discovering the mining industry when he took a course on\u00a0<\/span>M<\/span>ining for\u00a0<\/span>F<\/span>inanciers at BCIT. It would alter the course of his career.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIt opened up my eyes \u2013 not that like I didn\u2019t know what mining was all about \u2013 but it started p<\/span>iquing<\/span>\u00a0my interest. When I started thinking about doing my PhD, I said: How can my background in finance be used in the resource sector?\u201d da Costa remembers.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, da Costa teaches Mine Project Valuation and Risk Assessment, Mine Economics and Finance and Engineering Economics at UBC while he completes his PhD in Reclamation Bonding.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Da Costa believes the onus is on the industry to make improvements and bridge the communication gaps. One strategy<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0he says, is to communicate the spectrum of possibilities available in mining.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I tell students is: Look, if you\u2019ve got a passion for technology, mining is an industry that\u2019s evolving. If you look at what mining is going to be in the future, it is going to be a technology company that happens to go mining. That\u2019s what mining in the future looks like. What looks like science fiction today, I guarantee it will not be science fiction tomorrow,\u201d he says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI look at mining as a catalyst of the future.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve got a passion in technology, there\u2019s a home for you in mining. If you\u2019ve got a passion in conservation, taking care of the lands, reclamation, there\u2019s an interest in them. If you enjoy biology or chemistry, those are big interests in mining in terms of reclamation. If you enjoy engineering, there\u2019s a home for you in mining,\u201d da Costa says.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMining is global, so my view is if you\u2019ve got a skill set, and you understand what mining is, you\u2019ve got a job anywhere in the world.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n


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