It’s Getting Harder to Find Mining Engineers a Green World Needs
- Fewer students study mining engineering in some key regions
- Shortage of graduates risks crimping output of critical metals
Workers wait for the cage to lower them down the mine shaft at a nickel mine in Ontario, Canada.
Photographer: Cole Burston/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Digging up the metals that go into power grids and electric cars is crucial to the energy transition. While the mining industry has plenty of reserves to tap, it faces a worrying shortage of young workers needed to get materials out of the ground.
In regions like Canada and the US, enrollment or graduation from university courses related to mining engineering slipped in recent years. The dilemma adds to the challenges miners face as they scramble to boost output of everything from copper and nickel to cobalt and lithium, just as many nations view supplies as a matter of national security and users rush to secure metal.