EDITORIAL & OPINION — GUEST COLUMN — Mining must sing own praises

As director of external liaison for the Lassonde Mineral Engineering Program at the University of Toronto, one of my primary tasks is to recruit top high school graduates from Canada and around the world to participate in the program’s activities. It is a task I relish.

Having spent the past 20 years working in the Canadian mining industry, I speak with confidence when I tell students that the Canadian mining industry offers them an intellectually stimulating, financially rewarding career with limitless opportunities to grow and develop.

Like many people working in mining, I have travelled across Canada, visiting large cities and remote communities. I have seen some of our country’s most advanced technology in operation and I have met hundreds of highly skilled men and women who share my enthusiasm for mineral development. From the field to the boardroom, my working days have been varied and exciting.

Members of the Canadian mining industry know the industry can remain competitive on a world scale only if they anticipate and recognize potential challenges before they develop into obstacles. Our industry has repeatedly demonstrated its determination to remain a leader. In recent years, it has developed advanced technology that has revolutionized many aspects of mining exploration, development and processing. And many Canadian mining companies support training and education initiatives to ensure their workers remain on the leading edge. This determination to be at the top of the field means university grads entering the mining workforce have access to some of the most interesting, well-paying jobs in Canada today.

The Canadian government has said that the firms and industries that will succeed in today’s developing, knowledge-based economy are those that are globally oriented and highly productive and that invest heavily in knowledge and skills.

The Canadian mining industry believes in these fundamental routes to success. More importantly, it has shown that it knows that resources don’t come from the ground alone. Success comes from additional riches, including a skilled workforce, innovative ideas and technological advances.

Each day, I tell students in the Lassonde Mineral Engineering Program that great opportunities await them in the Canadian mining industry. But the voices of a few are not enough. The Canadian mining industry must tell Canadians what it is doing. It must share the good news.

— The preceding was written at the request of Mining Works for Canada, an organization designed to increase awareness of the importance of mining in this country.