The impending deficit of the bellwether metal has been common knowledge in the industry for years, but it was only this month that the United States Department of Energy actually acknowledged it. The department's director, Chris Copan, expressed concerns about the future of the talent pipeline, even calling on educational institutions to rally to increase enrollment numbers at the undergraduate level.
Copan noted academia has seen a decline in programs that relate to mining, engineering, and extractive metallurgy. 'This industry has lost its lustre, with regard to being attractive to the next generation of leaders at all levels in the sector and the lack of interest in the geosciences more broadly,' Copan said in an interview with MINING.com