Over the past few years it has become more and more apparent that the problem of scarcity of the human capital in mining cannot be solved by any company's individual efforts, that the wages would only have to spiral up, that there is a mismatch between the required levels of qualifications and the commonly found ones, and that the appeal of the mining industry as a career choice does not always match its importance to the global economy. The symptoms of the overstretched traditional HR management systems are becoming more noticeable which highlights the pressing need to develop tailored solutions based on systematic and sector approach.

The first version of the HRMINING seminar, organised by Gecamin and Fundación Chile, took place in November 2010 in Santiago and provided a much needed discussion space where international HR professionals could meet around the common goal and share knowledge, strategies, best practices and concerns regarding the challenges, common to this industry as a whole.