: Mining & Refining for Critical Minerals

Connect with industry news, upcoming events, educational resources, and career information that highlight advancements in critical minerals mining and refining.

Explore Upcoming Events

VIEW ALL MINING & REFINING FOR CRITICAL MINERALS EVENTS: SME Annual Conference & Expo 2026 (MINEXCHANGE)

Explore Latest News

Occupations

Browse Mining & Refining for Critical Minerals Occupations VIEW ALL OCCUPATIONS: Chemical Engineers
Chemical Equipment Operators
Chemical Plant & System Operators
Chemical Technicians
Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary
Chemists

: Browse courses, certifications, skills training and more...
SearchFind
Title
Type
Topic
Description
Title
Abbott Furnace
Type
Channel
Topic
Battery & Cell Production
Description
This channel highlights industrial thermal processing technologies and the engineering behind continuous belt furnaces used in manufacturing.
Title
American Battery Technology Company (ABTC)
Type
Company
Topic
Mining & Refining
Description
American Battery Technology Company recycles lithium-ion batteries and extracts battery metals, supporting sustainable, domestic battery material sourcing.
Title
American Battery Technology Company (ABTC)
Type
Channel
Topic
Battery & Cell Production
Description
American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) champions environmental and ethical sourcing of critical battery materials through lithium-ion battery recycling, battery metal extraction technologies, and primary mineral resource development for use in the batteries that power electric cars, grid storage applications, and consumer electronics and tools.
Title
American Welding Society Certifications | Certifications | Professional Development | Metconn
Type
Certification
Topic
Mining
Description
Earning a specialized welding certification can reward you with higher salary potential, stronger employment demand, and better job stability. A specialized certification displays your commitment to professional growth which can lead to success as an industry expert and leader.
Title
Anovion Technologies
Type
Channel
Topic
Battery & Cell Production
Description
This channel highlights advancements in synthetic graphite anode materials that support the next generation of lithium-ion batteries.
Title
Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML)
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Computational
Description
Artificial intelligence and machine learning extract patterns from the volumes of sensor, image, and electrical-test data that battery production lines generate. As a hard skill it requires fluency in supervised and unsupervised model training, feature engineering for industrial time-series data, and the discipline to validate models against held-out batches before letting them influence yield decisions. Engineers apply ML to predict cell-formation outcomes from coating-line measurements, classify cosmetic defects from inline cameras, and forecast equipment failures from vibration and temperature signatures before they cost production hours.
Title
Aspen Plus/hysys
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Computational
Description
Aspen Plus and HYSYS are the dominant chemical-process simulation platforms — used in battery production to model electrolyte mixing, solvent recovery distillation, cathode-material precursor synthesis, and the thermal balances around dry-room HVAC. As a hard skill it requires fluency in flowsheet construction, unit-operation parameterization (reactors, columns, heat exchangers), thermodynamic property method selection, and the discipline to validate simulated results against bench or pilot data. Process engineers apply it when scaling up an NMC cathode precursor process, when designing the solvent-recovery train on an electrode-coating line, or when modeling the thermal performance of a dry-room desiccant loop.
Title
Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS)
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Research and Development
Description
Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) determines the concentration of specific metal elements in a solution by measuring how much light a sample absorbs at wavelengths characteristic of each target element. As a hard skill it requires correct instrument setup for flame or graphite-furnace mode, preparation of matrix-matched calibration standards, and detection-limit verification against regulatory or process specifications. R&D scientists apply AAS to quantify lithium, cobalt, manganese, and other critical metals in electrolyte digests, leachate from recycling processes, and dissolution samples from battery materials characterization.
Title
Autocad
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Design
Description
AutoCAD is the long-standing 2D and 3D CAD platform used across design, manufacturing, mining, and shipbuilding for drafting, detailing, and as-built documentation. Strong users command layers, blocks, dynamic blocks, xrefs, sheet sets, and AutoLISP or .NET customization to standardize and accelerate output. Despite the rise of MBD and 3D-first workflows, AutoCAD remains the lingua franca for 2D drawings exchanged across supply chains and regulatory submittals.
Title
Bfds, Pfds, and P&ids
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Equipment Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing
Description
Block flow diagrams (BFDs), process flow diagrams (PFDs), and piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) are the graphical language refining and chemical engineers use to describe a process at progressively finer levels of detail. BFDs show major unit operations and mass balances, PFDs add streams and key equipment, and P&IDs specify every line, valve, instrument, and control loop needed to build and operate the plant. Fluency with these drawings is essential for design, troubleshooting, HAZOP, operator training, and management of change throughout the plant life cycle.
Title
Blasting & Coating
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Equipment Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing
Description
Blasting and coating processes prepare and protect the metal surfaces of battery enclosures, busbars, and structural pack components against corrosion and chemical attack. As a hard skill it requires selecting abrasive blast media appropriate for aluminum and steel substrates, specifying coating systems rated for electrolyte and thermal-cycling exposure, and verifying adhesion with standardized pull-off tests. Production engineers apply these techniques when qualifying pack enclosure suppliers, setting corrosion-protection specifications on structural steel modules, and establishing inspection criteria for coated components entering final assembly.
Title
Blueprints & Technical Drawings
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Design
Description
Blueprints and technical drawings communicate the geometry, tolerances, materials, and assembly relationships that define every manufactured component in a battery cell, module, or pack. As a hard skill it requires fluency in 2D drafting conventions, reading GD&T call-outs, navigating bill-of-materials hierarchies, and tracing revision history across drawing sets. Engineers apply this knowledge when releasing production prints for cell cans and pack enclosures, reviewing supplier drawings at design freeze, and resolving dimensional discrepancies discovered during first-article inspection.
Title
Board Certified Environmental Engineer | Certification | Professional Development | Metconn
Type
Certification
Topic
Mining
Description
The American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEECB) certifies qualified licensed Professional Engineers recommended by peers in their field of specialty as a Board Certified Environmental Engineer® through certification procedures prescribed by the Academy's Bylaws.
Title
Certified Automation Professional | Certifications | Professional Development | Metconn
Type
Certification
Topic
Mining
Description
The International Society of Automation (ISA) Certified Automation Professional (CAP) certification is a mark of career excellence that affirms your commitment to quality and demonstrates your expertise and knowledge of automation and controls.
Title
Certified Mine Safety Professional Program | Certifications | Professional Development | Metconn
Type
Certification
Topic
Mining
Description
Successful mine safety and health professionals possess a wealth of professional knowledge and experience to effectively perform your duties and keep others safe.
Title
Certified Professional Geologists | Certifications | Professional Development | Metconn
Type
Certification
Topic
Mining
Description
The American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) certifies professional geologists based on their competence, integrity and ethics.
Title
Certified Water Treatment Representative | Certifications | Professional Development| Metconn
Type
Certification
Topic
Mining
Description
Water Quality Association (WQA) certification is a voluntary credentialing process that demonstrates a commitment to high professional standards, strong expertise, and improved customer service.
Title
Chemical Analysis
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Refining & Chemical Processing
Description
Chemical analysis covers the wet-chemistry and instrumental techniques — titration, chromatography, spectroscopy, and elemental analysis — used to identify and quantify components in feeds, intermediates, products, and waste streams. In refining and chemical processing, lab results drive feedstock acceptance, on-spec product release, environmental compliance reporting, and root-cause investigation of upsets. Strong analysts combine method development, QA/QC discipline, and an understanding of how data feeds back into plant operating decisions.
Title
Chemical Engineering
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Refining & Chemical Processing
Description
Chemical engineering applies physics, chemistry, and process design to convert raw materials into fuels, chemicals, polymers, and specialty products at industrial scale. Practitioners size reactors, separation trains, and heat-transfer equipment; develop process flowsheets; and optimize plants against yield, energy, safety, and emissions constraints. It is the foundational technical discipline for refineries and chemical plants and is increasingly intertwined with process safety, sustainability, and digitalization.
Title
Chemical Engineers
Type
Occupation
Topic
Battery & Cell Production
Description
Design & develop chemical processes and plant equipment for manufacturing products like gasoline, plastics & rubber using chemistry and engineering.
Title
Chemical Equipment Operators
Type
Occupation
Topic
Battery & Cell Production
Description
Operate or tend equipment to control chemical changes or reactions in the processing of industrial or consumer products. Equipment used includes devulcanizers, steam-jacketed kettles, and reactor vessels.
Title
Chemical Plant & System Operators
Type
Occupation
Topic
Battery & Cell Production
Description
Control or operate entire chemical processes or system of machines.
Title
Chemical Technicians
Type
Occupation
Topic
Battery & Cell Production
Description
Run lab tests on solids, liquids & gases to support R&D, quality control, and environmental standards through applied chemistry.
Title
Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary
Type
Occupation
Topic
Battery and EV Education
Description
Teach courses pertaining to the chemical and physical properties and compositional changes of substances. Work may include providing instruction in the methods of qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis.
Title
Chemists
Type
Occupation
Topic
Battery & Cell Production
Description
Conduct qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses or experiments in laboratories for quality or process control or to develop new products or knowledge.
Title
Circular Economy
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Equipment Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing
Description
Circular economy practices in battery manufacturing close the loop on critical minerals — lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, graphite — by designing for disassembly, recycling, and reuse. As a hard skill it requires understanding hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical recovery processes, second-life cell qualification, and supply chain traceability of recovered materials. Operators apply these techniques to reduce dependence on primary mining, lower production costs, and meet emerging regulatory requirements around mineral provenance.
Title
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Mining
Description
A commercial driver's license (CDL) is the federally regulated credential required to operate heavy or specialized vehicles, including tractor-trailers, tankers, and many mining and construction trucks. Earning and maintaining a CDL involves classroom instruction, behind-the-wheel training, knowledge and skills testing, medical certification, and ongoing compliance with FMCSA hours-of-service and drug-and-alcohol rules. CDL drivers are a chronic constraint on industrial logistics, and the credential is a high-demand entry point into well-paying supply chain careers.
Title
Commercial Driver's License | Certifications | Professional Development | Metconn
Type
Certification
Topic
Mining
Description
There are three Commercial Driver's License (CDL) certifications: Class A, Class B and Class C.
Title
Construction Trade Worker
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Mining
Description
Construction trade workers in mining perform the skilled manual labor that builds and maintains mine infrastructure — roads, foundations, scaffolding, and structural supports for surface and underground operations. The role demands proficiency with hand and power tools, blueprint reading, and strict adherence to MSHA safety protocols on active mine sites where heavy equipment and ground hazards are constantly present. Strong craft workers are foundational to project schedules, as delayed infrastructure directly stalls extraction and processing throughput on time-critical mining projects.
Title
Continuous Improvement
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Equipment Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing
Description
Continuous improvement (kaizen) in battery manufacturing applies structured problem-solving cycles — PDCA, A3 reports, root-cause analysis — to incrementally raise yield, throughput, and consistency. As a hard skill it requires reading process data, running Gemba walks on cell-finishing lines, and writing standard work that captures incremental gains. Teams use it to reduce scrap on coating and calendering operations, shorten changeover times between chemistries, and stabilize tab-welding quality.
Title
Control Systems
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Equipment Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing
Description
Control systems regulate the physical processes — temperature, pressure, flow, motion, voltage — that govern battery cell production from slurry mixing through formation. As a hard skill it requires fluency in PID tuning, PLC ladder logic, SCADA configuration, and instrumentation diagnostics. Engineers apply these techniques to hold tight tolerances on coating thickness, drying oven temperature profiles, and formation charging curves where small deviations affect cell capacity and safety.
Title
Corrosion
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Equipment Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing
Description
Corrosion management protects battery components — current collectors, terminals, enclosures, and busbars — from electrochemical degradation that shortens cell life and compromises safety. As a hard skill it requires understanding galvanic compatibility between aluminum, copper, and steel, specifying protective coatings, and selecting electrolyte-compatible materials. Engineers apply corrosion knowledge during pack design, supplier qualification, and field-failure analysis where moisture ingress or electrolyte leaks have started attacking metal interfaces.
Title
Cybersecurity
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Equipment Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing
Description
Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting computer systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, theft, and damage — a critical hard skill as industrial facilities, battery plants, and mining operations become increasingly connected through IIoT, SCADA, and cloud platforms. As a hard skill it requires understanding threat modeling, network security architecture, identity and access management, vulnerability assessment, and incident response procedures relevant to both corporate IT and operational technology (OT) environments. Practitioners apply cybersecurity knowledge to defend production control systems from ransomware, secure remote access for distributed field teams, and comply with frameworks such as NIST CSF, IEC 62443, and ISO 27001 that govern industrial and critical-infrastructure environments.
Title
Data Science, Analytics, and Visualization
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Computational
Description
Data science, analytics, and visualization turn the streams of measurements off battery production lines into actionable conclusions about yield, cell capacity drift, and field reliability. As a hard skill it requires fluency in exploratory analysis (Python/pandas, R, SQL), inferential statistics, and visualization tools that surface trends to non-technical stakeholders (Power BI, Tableau, ggplot, matplotlib). Practitioners apply it when characterizing a new cell chemistry's formation distributions, building dashboards that operators use to spot drift in real time, and presenting field-warranty findings to executives in a form they can act on.
Title
Digital Twinning
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Equipment Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing
Description
Digital twins create live software models of battery production equipment and the cells they produce, fed by real-time sensor data from the physical line. As a hard skill it requires sensor integration, model calibration against historical run data, and use of the twin to simulate process changes before committing them on the line. Teams use digital twins to predict electrode coating defects, optimize formation cycling parameters, and validate maintenance windows without halting production.
Title
Drilling-blasting Operations
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Mining
Description
Drilling and blasting operations break rock to free ore from the host formation, using patterned boreholes and engineered explosive charges to control fragmentation and throw. Operators must balance powder factor, hole spacing, and timing delays to maximize muck pile diggability while limiting vibration, flyrock, and wall damage. Mastery of this skill is core to productivity in open-pit and underground mining and is tightly regulated under MSHA and ATF rules.
Title
Drones
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Design
Description
Drones (UAVs) in a design context encompass the mechanical, electrical, and software engineering disciplines required to specify, design, build, and certify unmanned aerial systems for commercial, industrial, and defense applications. As a hard skill it requires integrating airframe structures, propulsion systems, avionics, power distribution, and payload interfaces within regulatory constraints (FAA Part 107, DO-178C for certified systems), and validating performance through simulation and flight test. Design engineers apply drone engineering to develop custom inspection platforms, autonomous survey UAVs, and payload-delivery systems where commercial off-the-shelf drones lack the required performance, endurance, or payload capacity.
Title
Earth Science
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Mining
Description
Earth science provides the geological, geochemical, and geophysical foundation mining professionals use to locate, characterize, and extract mineral resources. It spans plate tectonics, mineralogy, sedimentology, hydrology, and structural geology, all interpreted through field mapping, drilling, and analytical instrumentation. A solid grounding in earth science underpins every downstream decision from exploration targeting to mine closure and reclamation planning.
Title
Elemental/chemical Analysis
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Research and Development
Description
Elemental and chemical analysis encompasses the suite of techniques — combustion analysis, ICP, AAS, XRF, EDX, ion chromatography — used to determine the elemental or molecular composition of a sample quantitatively. As a hard skill it requires selecting the right method for the matrix and concentration range, preparing certified reference standards, and applying the technique's calibration model correctly to convert raw instrument output into accurate concentration data. Battery R&D teams apply elemental analysis to verify cathode stoichiometry, certify incoming raw materials, track impurity levels in electrolytes, and close mass balances in recycling process development.
Title
Engineer in Training | Mining & Refining | Certifications | Professional Developmenet | Metconn
Type
Certification
Topic
Mining
Description
The EIT certification is a certification that each state mandates as a step that aspiring engineers must take before becoming licensed professional engineers.
Title
Environmental Engineering
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Mining
Description
Environmental engineering in mining manages water quality, air emissions, waste rock, tailings, and reclamation obligations so operations comply with NEPA, Clean Water Act, and state permit conditions. Engineers design treatment systems for acid rock drainage, dust controls, sediment ponds, and revegetation plans that span the full mine life cycle. Strong environmental engineering protects the social license to operate and prevents the legacy liabilities that have historically plagued the industry.
Title
Equipment Maintenance & Repair
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Mining
Description
Equipment maintenance and repair keeps the haul trucks, shovels, drills, conveyors, and crushers that define mining productivity available and safe to operate. Technicians combine hydraulic, electrical, mechanical, and welding skills with predictive maintenance data from telematics and oil analysis to schedule interventions before failure. Because unplanned downtime on a $5M+ haul truck can cost six figures per shift, this skill directly drives unit cost and operating margin.
Title
Exploration & Core Logging
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Mining
Description
Exploration core logging is the systematic description of drill core to capture lithology, alteration, mineralization, structure, and geotechnical character at depth. Loggers record observations in standardized digital templates that feed the geological database used for resource modeling and ore-grade estimation. The quality of logging data directly determines the reliability of reserve statements and the economic case for advancing a deposit.
Title
Flotation Cell
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Research and Development
Description
Flotation cells separate valuable mineral particles from gangue by generating fine air bubbles in a slurry, to which hydrophobic particles selectively attach and float to the surface for collection. As a hard skill it requires understanding frother and collector reagent chemistry, adjusting impeller speed, air flow, and pH to maximize recovery and grade, and interpreting concentrate and tailings assays to diagnose process performance. Battery researchers and process engineers apply flotation to concentrate lithium minerals such as spodumene and lepidolite from ore, and to recover critical minerals from black mass in lithium-ion battery recycling.
Title
Foundations of Modern Mining | Certifications | Professional Development | Metconn
Type
Certification
Topic
Mining
Description
The program is designed to provide learners with a thorough overview of the operational aspects of the modern minerals and mining sector. It will challenge their understanding of how mining can operate within the constraints of sustainability, a remote and dispersed workforce whose health, safety, and wellness are paramount, and the optimisation and automation of operations in an increasingly technical and complex landscape.
Title
Geological Modeling & Design
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Mining
Description
Geological modeling and design transforms drillhole, mapping, and geophysical data into 3D digital representations of orebodies and the surrounding geology. Modelers use software like Leapfrog, Vulcan, or Datamine to build implicit surfaces, block models, and grade estimates that drive mine planning and reserve reporting. The skill sits at the interface of geology and engineering and is increasingly augmented by machine-learning techniques for interpolation and uncertainty quantification.
Title
Geological/mining/mineral Engineering & Engineering Geology
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Mining & Refining
Description
Geological, mining, and mineral engineering applies engineering principles to the safe, economic extraction of mineral resources and to the geomechanical behavior of the rock mass around mine workings. Practitioners design pits, stopes, drifts, and support systems; estimate reserves; and evaluate hazards from squeezing ground, rockbursts, or slope instability. Engineering geology bridges this work with site investigation, classifying rock mass quality and informing both mine design and surface infrastructure.
Title
Geology & Mineralogy
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Mining
Description
Geology and mineralogy provide the descriptive and analytical framework for identifying rocks and the minerals that host valuable elements. Skills include hand-sample identification, thin-section petrography, XRD, XRF, and SEM-EDS analysis to determine mineral assemblages, textures, and paragenesis. Accurate mineralogical characterization drives metallurgical test work, processing flowsheet selection, and downstream recovery economics.
Title
Geophysics
Type
Hard Skills
Topic
Mining
Description
Geophysics uses physical methods — seismic, magnetic, gravity, electromagnetic, and resistivity surveys — to image subsurface geology without drilling. In mining it supports exploration targeting, structural interpretation, groundwater mapping, and geotechnical hazard assessment from regional to mine scale. Skilled geophysicists translate noisy field measurements into inverted models that materially de-risk drilling programs and mine design.
Title
Geotechnical Engineer | Certifications | Professional Development | Metconn
Type
Certification
Topic
Mining
Description
Professional credential awarded by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) through their Academy of Geo-Professionals (AGP), signifying that an engineer has demonstrated advanced knowledge and expertise in the field of geotechnical engineering beyond a standard professional engineering license, proving their competency in analyzing soil and rock conditions to design stable foundations for structures
1 - 50 of 132 Results
SHOW
50
1 2 3
JUMP TO

Connect with industry professionals and academia in strengthening the industrial base

Explore Hubs

Explore Communities of Practice (CoPs)

HUBS

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE (COPS)

Gain access to exclusive events and networking opportunities.

HUBS

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE (COPS)

Gain access to exclusive events and networking opportunities.

Professional Development

SKILLS TRAINING

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

CAREER PATHWAYS

Further your education and build your skillset.

Access resources to stay informed on latest developments in industry.

SKILLS TRAINING

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

CAREER PATHWAYS

Further your education and build your skillset.

Access resources to stay informed on latest developments in industry.

Organizations

INDUSTRY & MEMBERSHIP

RESEARCH & PUBLIC SECTOR

Uncover new opportunities to grow your career.

INDUSTRY & MEMBERSHIP

RESEARCH & PUBLIC SECTOR

Uncover new opportunities to grow your career.

NEWS

EVENTS

Funding Opportunities Announcements (FOAs)

NEWS

EVENTS

Funding Opportunities Announcements (FOAs)

Mining & Refining for Critical Minerals

Explore Upcoming Events

Explore Latest News

Occupations

Browse Mining & Refining for Critical Minerals Occupations

Browse courses, certifications, skills training and more...

1 - 50 of 132 Results

Connect with industry professionals and academia in strengthening the industrial base

MetConn

Communities

Professional Development

Organizations

News & Events

Topics