XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3 49
has been presented with more frequently. Decarbonization
of the energy economy has driven supply-demand gaps for
critical minerals to unprecedented levels. The International
Energy Association (IEA 2024, Figure 3) estimates that a
concerted effort to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement
would require doubling critical mineral production between
today and 2030 in the Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS)
case, which is associated with a 2.4°C temperature rise based
on today’s policy by 2100 with 50% probability. This is also
the case in the Announced Pledges Scenario wherein it is
assumed governments will meet all climate related commit-
ments including net-zero emission targets and is associated
with a 1.7°C temperature rise by 2100 with 50% probabil-
ity. In the Net Zero Emission by 2050 (NZE) scenario, an
even faster transition would limit the global temperature
rise to 1.5°C by 2100 and would require three times more
mineral inputs in 2030 than today. Regardless of scenario,
the supply-demand gap in mineral production is mandat-
ing innovation across the mining industry to produce the
materials the world needs to achieve these critical goals.
Compounding the mineral demand challenges for
both increased production and associated needs for pro-
duction of new metals and minerals is 40 years of declining
infrastructure and expertise across the mining industry. In
the 1980s, the United States defunded mining related pro-
grams. Federal funding of studies and research in mining
was drastically reduced and the dissolution of the former
federal Bureau of Mines removed all funding for mining
schools under the Mining and Mineral Resource Institutes
Act of 1984. The number of mining and mineral engineer-
ing programs at U.S. colleges and universities has continued
to decline from a high in 1982 through 2014 (Figure 4).
In 2022, the U.S. had ~600 students in mining engineer-
ing and related fields, by comparison, China had 1.2 mil-
lion. Similarly declines in support for federal agencies and
academic institutions supporting the mining industry has
occurred in countries that have traditionally been consid-
ered to be mining powerhouses. In Canada, enrollment in
mining /mineral processing programs has dropped from
1400 in 2014 to less than 500 in 2023 (Engineers Canada
2022).
Over the next 20 years, the mining industry will be one
of a handful of sectors that will be required and challenged
to add jobs at a rate of approximately 11,000 to 25,000
per year based on the current rate of workforce retirement
and projected increase in demand for resource production
(SME 2014). These will continue to be among the highest
paying private sector employment opportunities. The U.S.
does not presently have the skilled labor or educational base
to meet the resource demand and that which does exist may
be preferentially lured to places offering even higher wages.
Even though, the U.S. mining industry directly and indi-
rectly generated more than 1.2 million full- and part-time
jobs in the U.S. translating to $81.6 billion in labor com-
pensation (National Mining Association 2022). In addi-
tion, it is estimated that another 3.5 additional jobs are
Figure 3. Mineral requirements for clean energy technologies by scenario, includes most minerals used in clean energy
technologies except steel and aluminum (IEA 2024)
has been presented with more frequently. Decarbonization
of the energy economy has driven supply-demand gaps for
critical minerals to unprecedented levels. The International
Energy Association (IEA 2024, Figure 3) estimates that a
concerted effort to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement
would require doubling critical mineral production between
today and 2030 in the Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS)
case, which is associated with a 2.4°C temperature rise based
on today’s policy by 2100 with 50% probability. This is also
the case in the Announced Pledges Scenario wherein it is
assumed governments will meet all climate related commit-
ments including net-zero emission targets and is associated
with a 1.7°C temperature rise by 2100 with 50% probabil-
ity. In the Net Zero Emission by 2050 (NZE) scenario, an
even faster transition would limit the global temperature
rise to 1.5°C by 2100 and would require three times more
mineral inputs in 2030 than today. Regardless of scenario,
the supply-demand gap in mineral production is mandat-
ing innovation across the mining industry to produce the
materials the world needs to achieve these critical goals.
Compounding the mineral demand challenges for
both increased production and associated needs for pro-
duction of new metals and minerals is 40 years of declining
infrastructure and expertise across the mining industry. In
the 1980s, the United States defunded mining related pro-
grams. Federal funding of studies and research in mining
was drastically reduced and the dissolution of the former
federal Bureau of Mines removed all funding for mining
schools under the Mining and Mineral Resource Institutes
Act of 1984. The number of mining and mineral engineer-
ing programs at U.S. colleges and universities has continued
to decline from a high in 1982 through 2014 (Figure 4).
In 2022, the U.S. had ~600 students in mining engineer-
ing and related fields, by comparison, China had 1.2 mil-
lion. Similarly declines in support for federal agencies and
academic institutions supporting the mining industry has
occurred in countries that have traditionally been consid-
ered to be mining powerhouses. In Canada, enrollment in
mining /mineral processing programs has dropped from
1400 in 2014 to less than 500 in 2023 (Engineers Canada
2022).
Over the next 20 years, the mining industry will be one
of a handful of sectors that will be required and challenged
to add jobs at a rate of approximately 11,000 to 25,000
per year based on the current rate of workforce retirement
and projected increase in demand for resource production
(SME 2014). These will continue to be among the highest
paying private sector employment opportunities. The U.S.
does not presently have the skilled labor or educational base
to meet the resource demand and that which does exist may
be preferentially lured to places offering even higher wages.
Even though, the U.S. mining industry directly and indi-
rectly generated more than 1.2 million full- and part-time
jobs in the U.S. translating to $81.6 billion in labor com-
pensation (National Mining Association 2022). In addi-
tion, it is estimated that another 3.5 additional jobs are
Figure 3. Mineral requirements for clean energy technologies by scenario, includes most minerals used in clean energy
technologies except steel and aluminum (IEA 2024)