It’s one of the world’s oldest industries, and it’s not going to disappear anytime soon.

Still, of all the sectors ripe for a change, mining is probably the ripest. Just now, in the 21st century, mining is beginning to embrace automation, automated intelligence (AI) and information technology. It is beginning to ramp up its use of data, analytics and the industrial IoT to embrace connected technology.

In fact, it’s been predicted that the robotics market in the mining industry will grow by an average of over 27 percent by 2022.

The widespread use of advanced technology and the heaviest of heavy machinery means that practically every STEM discipline has a home in a mining organization. As work becomes more automated, the demand for these skills will only increase and overall, the industry faces chronic labour shortages as the baby boomers retire.

In fact, job security is one of the most attractive features of mining. Miners tend to earn more than their counterparts in utilities, forestry and manufacturing. The Mining Industry Human Resources Council estimated that by the end of 2021, the Canadian mining industry will need to hire 1,370 geo-scientists, as well as 665 mining engineers.


Mining’s impact on the employment market extends far beyond the mine shaft and its extracts. Toronto, Canada, is the mining finance capital of the world. The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and Toronto Venture Exchange (TSX-V) list more mining companies than any other exchange—over a thousand at last count. The TSX and TSX-V are home to more than half of the public mining companies in the world and in 2019, they raised a combined $12.5 billion in new equity capital for mining.


Occupational health and safety roles will continue to be in demand in mining. Across Canada, the industry is expected to hire approximately 97,450 workers between 2019 and 2029.

Mining will be making an intense effort to attract and recruit women and men from every national and cultural background. The industry is actually developing programs to attract qualified mining candidates internationally and help them come to Canada.