TELF AG explores the central role of mining specialists worldwide
A competitive advantage
In the coming decades, every nation in the world will be called upon to contribute to achieving the objectives of climate neutrality, thus giving a decisive push to the construction of increasingly sustainable social and business models. The fact that the energy transition will largely depend on the quantity of raw materials and strategic minerals available is now a fact, and many nations are making serious efforts to express their full mineral potential as much as possible. In this global race towards decarbonization, however, some countries are starting with a clear advantage over others. These advantages are linked to strategic planning in the mining sector, but not only. In recent decades, China has invested a massive number of resources in the workforce of the mining sector, in the training of millions of students within the institutions dedicated to mining sciences, thus creating the best conditions to benefit from a clear strategic advantage in the medium and long term. A few years later, the facts have fully proved this planning right, and it is no coincidence that nowadays, China is undeniably one of the most important players in the strategic minerals sector.
Simply put, China surpasses any other nation in its number of geologists and similar professionals, which puts it in a better position than others. In other parts of the world, such as the West, the situation appears very different compared to China. In 2022, Australia and the United Kingdom sent clear signals regarding the shortage of qualified professionals in the mining sector, publishing estimates relating to this unbridgeable gap.
The situation in the West
In Australia, by 2027, a shortage of as many as 24,000 workers is expected in the mining industry, while in the United Kingdom, there needs to be more graduates in this specific sector. In the United States, American Geosciences estimates that approximately 27% of the US geoscience workforce will retire by 2029, and more geologists will likely be needed to take their place. By 2030, the employment gap in this sector could reach 130,000 units. All this has repercussions on the vitality of national mining sectors and risks slowing down the global energy transition and the path towards decarbonization, which depend precisely on the joint efforts of all nations.
These shortcomings have manifested themselves in a very delicate historical phase, in which the growing global demand for strategic minerals has also made it necessary to have qualified professionals capable of managing every technical aspect linked to the processes of the mining industry, from exploration to processing, from more efficient and sustainable extractions to the virtuous reuse of waste materials, and so on. These are primarily technical tasks for which an ever-increasing number of geoscientists is expected.
According to data from the International Energy Agency, by 2040, the world will double its need for strategic minerals to produce clean energy. By 2050, the quantity of critical minerals needed for decarbonization will increase sixfold.
