Resilience has never been more critical in mining. Here’s why.
Alberto Cardenas | Peru
Uncertainty and isolation. Operational pressure, safety concerns and talent scarcity. Relentless scrutiny. Whether leading a remote site or a central function, mining is not for the faint-hearted. In this rocky world, decisions can involve billions of dollars, while regulation slows momentum and geopolitical uncertainties launch constant depth charges.
AI offers wide-ranging solutions, but many boards are wary. This is a high-stakes industry. It requires exceptional resilience.
An economic force
Structural change is unavoidable, says Alberto Cardenas, a Partner with Amrop in Peru with 30 years’ mining experience. Short supplies herald high demand. The winners are athletes; they combine financial resources and agility. Rather than waiting years to build new projects, they are leaping to secure access to minerals - gold, copper, lithium. S&P reported a $26.54 billion value across 62 deals in 2024.1 Others lack the funds to invest in their future: digitization and AI alone deserve 3–5% of turnover. Upgrading a control room, improving reporting, or automating trucks are projects, not transformation.
Mine sites need local communities for workforce and supplies, providing salaries, health, and education in return. Community members still seek a local interface, even as functions such as HR and finance increasingly report to central headquarters. By association, mining accounts for 50-60% of total exports in the Andean countries.2 It determines the health of multiple sectors and is closely intertwined with governments.
But increasingly exposed
In the 1990s, foreign investment introduced new standards to Latin America: sustainability, ESG, safety, community relationships. But in essence, a mine was still a factory. ‘Resilience’ meant swiftly containing internal crises, as safety, an environmental event and social conflict could converge in a single incident. Today, publicity flows unchecked. Employees post on social media, external actors scrutinize sustainability, ESG, and launch criminal investigations. Chile’s El Teniente earthquake and China’s Luishenyu explosion are tragic examples.
Accountability no longer means simply producing on budget and satisfying shareholders. External forces, from inflation to regulatory change, are penetrating organizations ever more deeply. Leaders must stay close to stakeholders (including governments) adopting a proactive stance.
The implications are clear: senior mining executives can no longer rest on their technical skillset. Leaders will need the resilience to flex to a widening bandwidth.
Stretching beyond previous limits
Resilience is a leadership imperative. Build it like a muscle.
Mental resilience has been a constant feature of my mining career. No longer a tactical bounce back post crisis, it is now a fundamental attribute. Resilient leaders maintain focus and judgment under pressure. They recover faster. For the C‑suite, human judgment is central. Its quality depends on resilience in times of stress and information overload. And resilience must be protected.
Resilience starts with self‑awareness and discernment. What is happening here? How am I reacting? What leader do I need to be in this situation?Self-questioning is natural and necessary. Sometimes it’s more important to set the next step than to overthink, or try to solve everything at once. As I have learned from running 45 marathons, putting one foot in front of the other is the only decision you need to take today.
This is why resilience is a board and C-suite matter – a strategic capability rather than a wellness initiative. C-level roles are isolated. Structural coaching is key. So too, is membership not just of a gym, but of a peer group. A psychologically safe environment where participants can surface unseen and unvoiced issues. Each leader has the responsibility of determining the formula they need.
Mining for talent
Mining was once for miners. Today the industry welcomes all disciplines and has great opportunities to attract resilient, broad spectrum leaders. The close relationship with government and investors attracts forward-looking players. And as modern executives prefer to fly into a mining base rather than permanently residing in a remote location, many companies have adapted.
Still, the industry remains poorly understood by onlookers. Its true value proposition deserves better communication. Mining is about far more than mineral extraction: it provides the materials for modern life. It is a strategic enabler of economic development and global progress.
That responsibility changes the profile of the leaders the industry needs. Not only must executives operate world-class mines, they must ensure organizations perform today, and prepare society for what’s next.
Technical excellence will always be essential, but it is resilience that enables leaders to make sustainable decisions, earn trust and move forward when uncertainty is at its highest.
1 S&P Global, (2025). ‘Mining M&A in 2024 – Gold dominates M&A space for 2nd consecutive year’. March 20, 2025.
2 Mineria en linea (2026). Minería impulsa exportaciones chilenas: sector representa el 59,4% de los envíos en 2026. 10 April, 2026. (Mining boosts Chilean exports: sector accounts for 59.4% of shipments in 2026). Countries covered: Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Ecuador:
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