
Ep 34: State of Mining 2025 and Beyond: Risk, Refining, and a Gold Rush of Geopolitics
From ORE-ATORY: Elevating Mining Minds by Lindsey Schultz
January 8, 2026 · 1h 5m · Season 1 · Episode 34
About this episode
The episode discusses the current state of mining, focusing on M&A trends, geopolitical challenges, and strategies for growth and stakeholder engagement.
👤 S teve Virtue , Executive Consultant Mining, Politics, & Stakeholder Strategy 🎙️ Lindsey Schultz, CEO of MRC Recruiting We unpack the year's $50B M&A wave, China's refining chokehold, permitting gridlock, and the talent crunch—and how disciplined growth, government offtakes, and smarter stakeholder trust-building can unlock projects. Steve shares playbook moves on risk sensing, supply-chain alliances, processing onshoring, remote ops, and workforce wellbeing amid global uncertainty and election cycles. Practical insights for leaders navigating capital, policy, and people—without losing the plot on execution. Our Promise: We aim to engage with the most creative minds in mining—from engineers and executives to environmentalists and geologists—to explore groundbreaking projects and pioneering innovations. Our discussions are designed not only to inform but to inspire action and empower our listeners to lead and innovate. Stay Connected: ➤ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mrcrecruiting/ ➤ Website: https://mrcrecruiting.com/ ➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MRCRecruiting ➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MRCRecruiting
People in this episode
Host: Lindsey Schultz
Guest: Steve Virtue
Topics covered
- mining
- geopolitics
- M&A
- talent crunch
- stakeholder strategy
- supply chain
- workforce wellbeing
Keywords
- mining
- M&A
- geopolitics
- talent crunch
- stakeholder strategy
- supply chain
- workforce wellbeing
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: MRC Recruiting
Places: China
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