Mining and employment

Mining is not a major employer. It accounts for perhaps 0.5% of the world's workforce -- about 11 million people. However, for every mining job there is at least one job that is directly dependent on mining. In addition, 11.5-13 million people not included in the above figure work in small-scale mines. When one takes dependants into account, the number of people relying on mining, both large and small, for a living is likely to be over 200 million.

Competition, declining mineral grades, higher treatment costs, privatization and restructuring are putting pressure on mining companies. The high capital-intensity of much of the mining industry encourages mining companies to seek the maximum use of their equipment, calling in turn for more flexible and often more intensive work patterns.

Employment is falling in many mining areas -- as a result of increased productivity, radical restructuring, and privatization. Well over 3 million jobs in mining were lost between 1995 and 2000. While the decline in employment appears to have stopped, since mining has created opportunities for employment in countries that did not use to have a long tradition of a strong mining industry, the opposite trend has taken place in countries that used to be major mining countries. It is therefore estimated that despite the recent boom in commodity prices, the workforce has not grown.

These changes in the industry not only affect mineworkers who must find alternative employment; those remaining in the industry have to work in different ways that require different skills and more flexibility. Finding the balance between the desire of mining companies to cut costs and the determination of workers to safeguard their jobs is a major issue throughout the world of mining.