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A ROADMAP FOR MINERALS PROCESSING EDUCATION
Mineral Engineering Knowledge and Skills for
Today’s Industry

IMPC Education Commission, Industry Survey, 2014–2015

DIANA DRINKWATER
Chair, IMPC Mineral Processing Commission

Introduction

The Mineral Industry continues to develop new products and technologies
to handle increasingly complex processing challenges. Undergraduate
education and ongoing professional development need to develop and
maintain the competencies required to support these technologies, and
yet there is growing evidence that the overall skill and competency level of
mineral engineering graduates around the world is declining (McCaffery
et al 2014, Munro 2016).

Education providers must understand technological trends and changing
practices across different commodity sectors and geographical regions if
they are to build the appropriate workforce capacity for today’s minerals
industry.

The IMPC Commission on Education conducted a survey of leading
industry figures to establish their views about the skills and competencies
they expected of graduates entering the industry as metallurgists or
mineral processing engineers. This survey was conducted over 6 months
in 2014/15, via an internet-based questionnaire. This survey was not
intended to provide a complete and definitive account of industry needs,
but to identify perceptions and expectations within different sectors of the
industry, regions and types of organisations.

Mineral Engineering Knowledge and 25
Skills for Today’s Industry