Exploitation of Mineral Resources Requires Proper People: Expectations of the World’s Top Mining Companies

Abstract

Human resources are essential for the mining industry. It is important to understand the requirements of the companies regarding the characteristics of their employees. Job- and career-related web pages of 40 of the world’s top mining companies have been analyzed for the general demands on their employees. These demands are attributed intuitively to seven basic categories (each category includes words with more or less coherent meanings). It is found that the most commonly demanded characteristics are skills, dedication to the work, and personality. Surprisingly, the least attention is paid to social issues. The disclosed expectations are weakly coherent, with the only persistent demand being talent. It also appears that North American and European companies are especially concerned of work dedication, whereas Asian and African companies are primarily concerned of skills. The present study deduces that policy improvements in contemporary mining are necessary—at least, the demands on the employees should be made better in agreement with the actual needs of the mining industry.