The mining industry stands at a pivotal moment. Demand for critical minerals is soaring, driven by electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, and the global race to reach net zero, but attracting enough young people into mining engineering and geoscience remains stubbornly difficult.
At CSM, we see both sides of this tension every day: the enormous opportunity ahead, and the challenge of ensuring we have the skilled people to meet it.
For many prospective students, the first barrier appears long before they set foot on campus: the rising cost of higher education. The fear of walking away with tens of thousands of pounds of student debt is very real, and it understandably shapes decision making. At the same time, mining still suffers from an outdated reputation that puts off those who might otherwise flourish in the sector. Too often, people picture a “dirty, dangerous” past instead of the modern, technologically advanced industry that underpins the green transition.
The good news? Mining companies can play a transformative role in fixing both issues.
Scholarships and bursaries: opening the door to the industry
Let’s start with the simplest and most impactful tool companies have – financial support.
Scholarships and bursaries genuinely change the trajectory of young people’s lives. When students learn that a mining company can help cover their academic fees or living costs, everything shifts. Parents who are wary of long term debt suddenly feel relief. Students who weren’t sure university was financially possible begin to see a future that includes higher education and, crucially, a future in mining.
At CSM, we’ve witnessed this time and again. When a company puts its name behind a scholarship, it signals a commitment not just to an individual, but to the next generation of mining talent. And it’s mutually beneficial: industry invests early in people who could become future employees, ensuring the talent pipeline remains healthy.
The LME’s scholarship support of our students is a perfect example – practical, visible, and genuinely life changing for its recipients. But individual mining companies can also play a significant role. Whether sponsoring one student or fifty, the impact is both immediate and long lasting.
Placements and graduate pathways: from first hello to career launch
Once students arrive, the next step is showing them what mining really looks like. This is where placements and graduate roles become indispensable, and they work best when they’re connected.
Vacation placements are often the moment when career decisions crystallise. After eight weeks on site, shadowing engineers, contributing to operational tasks, observing the scale and significance of modern mining, students gain an understanding no lecture theatre can match. Companies benefit too. A placement is essentially a very long interview, giving employers the chance to see a student’s work ethic, curiosity, and potential.
For master’s students, industry-linked dissertation projects are especially powerful. These are not theoretical exercises; they solve real problems. Students gather data on site, analyse it, and deliver insights a company can genuinely use. Some of these projects even result in published papers for the students, and for companies it’s a free pair of hands with advanced technical training.
Graduate roles and schemes then provide a natural continuation. Students who’ve been supported, mentored, and welcomed into a company during their studies transition smoothly into full-time roles. The loyalty is already there. The learning curve is shorter. And companies secure talent they’ve watched develop from day one.
Visibility on campus: the power of just showing up
One of the easiest ways companies can support talent pipelines is simply to be seen. Students cannot aspire to a career they’ve never encountered. This is why industry engagement is essential – on campus, in classrooms, and here at CSM, often over a pint and a pasty! We find these informal events are consistently some of the most effective recruitment moments. Companies chat openly about day-to-day operations, career paths, international travel, site life, and the excitement of the job. Students ask questions they’d never think to ask in a formal setting.
But perhaps the biggest impact comes from recent graduates. When a 24-year-old stands in front of our students – whether in-person, or on a video from a site in Western Australia – and explains how they graduated 18 months ago and now manage a section of an open pit, it lands in a way no brochure or campaign ever could. These interactions make the industry relatable and real. They also shatter stereotypes.
Changing the narrative: mining as a net-zero enabler
A final critical role companies can play is in helping reshape public understanding of mining.
Modern mining is not the coal-stained stereotype of decades past. It is high tech, essential, and central to achieving net zero. Without mining, we will not have electric vehicles, wind turbines, mobile phones, or battery storage. Without secure supplies of copper, lithium, cobalt, rare earths and tin, the global energy transition simply cannot happen. We all know this, but too few young people (and too few parents) are armed with this knowledge.
Industry has the credibility and the responsibility to tell this story. Through outreach, media engagement, school visits, and partnerships with universities, companies can help the next generation see mining as a future focused, globally significant, technologically advanced sector. One that offers opportunity, purpose and impact.
A shared responsibility for the road ahead
At Camborne School of Mines, as well as other institutions around the world, we’re working hard to rebuild and strengthen mining education, but we can’t do it alone. Nurturing the next generation of mining engineers and geoscientists requires collaboration between universities and the companies who will ultimately employ these graduates.
The formula is straightforward:
• Scholarships and bursaries bring students in
• Placements and graduate pathways keep them engaged and help them build meaningful early careers
• Campus visibility inspires them and demystifies the sector
• A refreshed narrative empowers them to feel proud of choosing mining
If we can all work together across these roles the pipeline of talent will not only grow, it will thrive, and the industry will be better equipped to meet the enormous challenges and opportunities of the years ahead.
Let’s invest, not just in mines, but in the people who will keep them running for decades to come.
*The views expressed in this article are the observations of Camborne School of Mines and are not necessarily reflective of the LME’s position*
Guest author:
Professor Andy Wetherelt
Professor Wetherelt is the Programme Director for Undergraduate Mining programmes at the Camborne School of Mines (CSM) in the UK. CSM has been providing world-class geoscience and mining education for more than 130 years. The School is based at the University of Exeter’s Cornwall campus, a location which offers unique opportunities to collaborate with the region's rich natural resources and thriving sustainability initiatives.
Andy joined the University of Exeter in April 1991. Prior to his appointment he worked for South Crofty Plc, Gold Fields of South Africa and Eurotunnel. Andy’s research interests cover 3D remote surveying, underground tunnel orientation and blast vibration analysis. He is a Member of the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, and a Fellow of the Institute of Quarrying.