Aaron Ball In my last article, “Criticality and Energy Minerals,” you read about the term “criticality” and learned some of the context behind it from a risk-assessment standpoint. You also read about the duality of industrial and military utilization that plagues critical-mineral supply chains. It is important that we understand that “criticality” refers to a single point of failure in the critical-mineral supply chain.
Now, I want to turn our attention away from the materials to highlight the human dimension of the critical minerals supply chain: the exploration geologist as a critical professional within the supply chain.
Entrepreneurial Geology
The English surveyor and canal-builder William Smith was an entrepreneur. Mining – particularly of coal – was around for thousands of years before his time. Not much new could be learned … or so it was thought. Whether he knew what he’d done or not, Smith had reinterpreted Nicholas Steno’s laws of superposition, horizontality and lateral continuity and wound up creating his own principle of faunal succession by which he mapped rocks of similar ages across the English countryside. His work did not go unnoticed by wealthy landowners, who often wondered about the mineral wealth that might lie beneath their properties. The map of England, which Smith intended to publish, would become the first true geological map, and he hoped it would be information people would be willing to purchase. He took on financial risks to create something innovative and turn it into a profitable business venture.
The concept of geologic mapping and, more broadly, geologic exploration, is a crucial part of virtually all human endeavors.
Developing a Workforce of Entrepreneurs
We need more entrepreneurial geologists. Others see this too. During the inaugural Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit, in February 2024, the discussion was about public-private partnerships and expansion of geoscience education for building out a labor force for the state’s emerging lithium brine industry. The second day was devoted to workforce development in the state with several of the state’s universities discussing plans to meet industry needs (although not all specifically related to geoscience education). Apprenticeships were discussed as a way to increase the critical minerals workforce in the state.
At the North American Workshop on Critical Mineral Research, Development, and Education in August of this year, four presentations focused on critical minerals workforce development. Joe Biasi of the University of Wyoming discussed his student-owned, student-operated and student-led mineral exploration company, teaching mineral exploration with an entrepreneurial twist. Harriet Naakai Tetteh of Freeport McMoRan Inc. and Zohreh Zazemi Motlagh of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology challenged negative perceptions of the mining and petroleum industries. Apprenticeships were mentioned again. James Kubicki of the University of Texas-El Paso announced the reopening of the bachelor’s in mining engineering degree in fall 2027 as a collaboration between several departments. Clementine Hamelin of William and Mary University discussed exposing students to critical mineral issues through student-led classroom presentations.
Although these instances were pivotal in shaping my concept of the geoscientist as a critical profession, the thought process resonates with others who have come before me. For example, as far back as 2021, the editorial staff of Nature wrote, “Scientists trained to manage water resources, monitor pollution, combat coastal erosion, discover technology metals, mitigate climate change, and much more, are critical. Culling Earth science talent pools, rather than increasing and nurturing them, is incredibly impetuous and will have long-term negative consequences – without geoscientists there will be no sustainable future.”
Geologists of All Trades
We as geologists understand that natural resources do not simply come off the shelf. At least, oil and gas did not before the Shale Revolution. Someone must first put time and energy into exploration. Even with the shale, someone put a tremendous amount of time and energy into making tight rock a viable resource. The skills of the exploration geologist are transferable to other industries. Whether mapping mineral deposits for mining or delineating pollution for damage-cost assessments or using mapping software to locate other measurable features of the Earth, the skills of exploration are transferable to a variety of industries. As the domestic need for critical minerals and rare earth elements grows, so too does the need for those entrepreneurial geologists to branch out with their specialized skills in exploration and begin building an inventory of natural resources for the economy.
In our September meeting, the Energy Minerals Division leadership agreed to tackle the project of reframing geology with an entrepreneurial focus to attract more students and assist geologists transitioning from one area of industry to another, highlighting inherent business aspects and the potential for puzzle-solving. We agreed to explore developing courses for AAPG Academy that combine business concepts with geological exploration. We are partnering with experts from around the United States to accomplish this. We look forward to sharing exciting developments in the near future.