206 Attracting and Educating a 21st Century Mining Workforce: Addressing the Need for a Resilient Domestic Supply of Critical Minerals

Tuesday, 24 September 2024
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Ballroom A&B

THE ENERGY TRANSITION WILL NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT A RADICAL MINDSET CHANGE AMONG GEOLOGY FACULTY

Paper number: 206-2
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 1:35 PM – 1:55 PM

Authors

  • Adam Simon Presenting Author
    University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Abstract

The energy transition will require responsible mining of critical minerals at quantities and rates never experienced by humans. Using copper as an example, we need to mine about 125% more copper over the next several decades than has been mined since the dawn of humanity. This cannot happen at existing mines, which are purpose-built to produce an almost set annual amount of copper over their planned lifetime. The copper that the energy transition requires must come from new mines. To meet the growing copper demand, we need to open at least three new tier-1 copper mines every year for the next 30 years. However, mining companies continue to struggle to find new deposits to supply copper and other critical minerals. There have only been five tier-1 copper deposits discovered in the past decade. This indicates that innovation is desperately needed to find new mineral deposits. Historically, universities would play an important role ideating and innovating to develop new technologies that mining companies could use. Through the 1960's there was at least one and usually several geology faculty focused on some aspect of mining at every Ivy League university as well as Caltech, Chicago, Penn State, Stanford, and Maryland. As of 2024 there are zero faculty at these institutions owing to an almost complete shift to studying aspects of climate change. These new faculty have grown up learning that mining is bad and must not be supported. So, at a time when we understand human impacts on climate and we understand what solutions need to be implemented, we do not have geology departments capable and willing to train students to enter the mining industry and make measurable, meaningful and impactful positive change for society. Even worse, classes that portray mining as evil still dominate university curricula, although few will admit this openly. The world needs a radical, progressive mindset change among geology faculty who currently advocate for an energy transition but resist curricular changes required to enable the transition.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 56, No. 5

doi: 10.1130/abs/2024AM-406033

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