Mining’s brand needs to catch up with its importance to humanity

Any public figure knows that they must brand themselves early — or risk being branded in an unflattering light that could well stick. Ask any of the victims of former U.S. president Donald Trump — a master of branding and image, if, debatably, little else.

Well, the mining industry is now in the spotlight. And although it has a well-established brand, it could use a spit shine. While the sector has made tremendous advances in lowering its environmental impact and creating more positive social impacts, it’s still seen by many as dangerous, polluting, exclusionary and a technological laggard.

This may be starting to change. Awareness of the importance of critical minerals to the technology that people know and love has grown, aided by Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s pleas for miners to “mine more nickel” and his musings that the EV manufacturer could get into lithium mining itself.

A public opinion survey commissioned by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) and conducted by Abacus Data in 2022 found that, at least in Canada, the mining sector has finally moved to being seen as a contributor to climate change solutions rather than just a contributor to climate change.

Within Canada, the recognition that the industry creates well-paying jobs and contributes to the economy also seems to engender support, with 80% of respondents saying they have a positive impression of metals and minerals producers in the country. MAC noted that support for new mining projects in Canada rose to 67% of respondents in the survey, up from 61% the previous year, and that rose further to 83% support if respondents knew the projects would have a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But the lack of interest among younger talent in joining the sector shows there’s still a long way to go to win the public over. Even though Gen Z, who are just entering the workforce now, seek work that offers purpose and a chance to make a difference and also feel existential anxiety about climate change, they are not inspired by a career in mining, despite its central role in the energy transition.

Failure to attract — and keep — talent

In a February 2023 post entitled: “Has mining lost its luster? Why talent is moving elsewhere and how to bring them back,” consulting firm McKinsey & Co. noted that enrolment in mining engineering programs has dropped by a staggering 63% since 2014 in Australia, while mining program graduations in the United States have fallen by 39% since 2016.

“Mining is not currently an aspirational industry for young technical talent to join,” the report’s authors wrote.

“Recent public failures of the industry relating to safety, destruction of Indigenous cultural sites, and workplace culture have also adversely affected the mining sector’s ability to attract talent. Accordingly, we expect that the mining industry will be asked to make significant progress in coming years around increased accountability for ESG issues, scaling of renewables on-site, automation, and a changing associated workforce.”

Neither is the mining sector able to retain the talent it already has. According to McKinsey, mining job vacancies in Australia have more than doubled since February 2020.

“The employee value proposition in mining has started to deteriorate and this is showing up in industry data, with demand outstripping the supply of mining talent,” wrote the authors.

Now that the push for a secure Western supply of critical minerals and manufacturing is truly on, it’s past time for the mining sector to step up its engagement with society. The billions in commitments from the Canadian government in their 2022 and 2023 budgets and hundreds of billions of dollars from the U.S. government for the energy transition (see last week’s editorial), represent a level of support from Western governments that hasn’t been seen in generations — and that many have compared to a war-time like effort. There’s a risk that this investment could get ahead of public support for mining, as well as the mining sector’s ability to attract talent.

A couple of current trends could make a big difference.

The recent willingness of automakers such as Stellantis and General Motors to invest in mining companies could provide a golden opportunity for miners, who don’t sell anything to consumers directly, to connect with the public.

And with mining companies now able to measure their Scope 1 and 2 emissions, their water intensity, and other impacts, and making headway on Scope 3 emissions (which are indirect emissions created offsite), they are closer than ever before to being able to demonstrate that mining can be a positive for the environment, for communities, and for society.

Without more engagement with the public and the figures to back up its ESG credentials, the mining sector will continue to struggle to build trust, including with the future talent it needs to attract.