Generational Workforce Gaps in Mining and the Timeline Problem of Critical Mineral Development, Corby Anderson Part One

A Rock and A Hard Place

Corby Anderson, director of both the Kroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy and the Center for Resource Recovery and Recycling at the Colorado School of Mines, joins us once again to discuss some of the generational workforce gaps in the mining sector and the "timeline problem" of domestic critical mineral development. For over 30 years, the US disinvested in the skills necessary to take on todays critical mineral challenges. Now, as universities and geological surveys across the country are tasked with leading the research and producing the workforce to meet national demands, a major timing problem is presenting itself. US policies and government announcements are moving in the right direction, but as Corby notes, it will be highly unlikely for the US to achieve these goals in the limited timespan given as geopolitical tensions across the world rise and regional power dynamics shift. The time to act was yesterday, so today and tomorrow require strong action and mining education to develop a strong domestic mining sector.