A recent report issued by Deloitte titled “Tracking the Trends 2023, the Indispensable Role of Mining and Metals” is filled with ideas on how the mining industry can align with DEI ideology and embrace the cult of climate change.
The transition to a “green energy” future requires an abundance of minerals, rare earth metals and precious metals.
International Energy Agency estimates that demand for critical metals is expected to increase ten fold by 2040 as battery and electric vehicles manufacturing increases.
The mining industry will play a critical role as the supply chain ramps up to support domestic manufacturing of batteries, electric vehicles, solar panels and other advanced energy products.
The industry faces challenges with regulators, environmental protestors and the ESG and decarbonization movements continue to force companies to adopt policies to meet diversity and inclusion quotas.
Industry leaders report that companies across the mining industry already face serious labor shortages. Activist investors and companies continue to put an emphasis on the need for diversity and inclusiveness policies that are a hamper to business efforts and growth. Many of these policies are seen as nonsensical and impractical.
A bigger threat for the industry, particularly in North America, is that many of the existing workers in the mining industry are aging. Today, the average age for a worker in the mining industry is 46 years old. With nearly 50% of the skilled engineers expected to retire within the next 10 years.
Mining directly employs more than 834,000 in the United States. With an additional 77,000 in Canada and 400,000 in Mexico.
The mining industry in Canada faces risks to keep up with industrial and consumer demand. The Deloitte report suggests that Canadian miners need to hire 80,000 to 120,000 people between now and 2030 in order to keep up with demand.
In the United States, employment in the mining sector has fallen over 20% in the last decade due mine shutdowns resulting from the decline in global demand for coal as the ESG movement lobbied for energy policy changes to support green energy solutions and less reliance on fossil fuels.
Last year, the United States produced 170 million tons of gold. Silver production topped 1,100 tons.
Industrial demand for silver is expected to continue to surge as as companies invest in the domestic manufacturing of EV batteries, solar panels and other components of the green energy movement.