As the mining industry asks how it can defend its reputation amid a critical and activist-oriented narrative prevailing in the West, young people in mining are taking it upon themselves to counter that narrative using smartphones and social media to tell their own stories.
Enter the small but growing world of mining influencers: miners or mine-adjacent professionals whose content on social media is drawing hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of likes on such platforms as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and others.
“If they can get young people more aware of the industry and its role in our society, and the fact that we’re not just dirty, evil polluters, and we’re actually contributing to a better world and providing good jobs and doing things in a very environmentally and socially responsible way – that’s great,” Kimberly Darlington, President of mining-focused marketing firm Refined Substance, told The Northern Miner.
“We have to meet our audiences where they are. If the young people are on TikTok, and that’s where we need to go meet them.”
The rise of mining influencers comes as the industry struggles to attract younger workers while enrolments in geoscience programs decline and up to 255,000 mining job vacancies could open in the coming years due to retirements and industry growth, according to data from the Ottawa-based Mining Industry Human Resources (MIHR) Council.
From science to sites
Mining influencer identities take many forms, from a science education focus on geology and rock hounding, to technology, and to a more personal view on underground mine work and site tours, said Jessica Scanlan, founder of digital strategy company MineLife Media.
There are currently about 45 active mining influencers, most of whom work from North America, Australia and Latin America, Scanlan estimates.
A geological engineer by training, Scanlan worked at Sibanye-Stillwater’s (JSE: SSW, NYSE: SBSW) namesake mine in Montana for five years before she left underground mining and in 2022 founded MineLife Media. It provides digital content creation resources to mining-related industries.
Industry’s changing attitude
“There’s been a massive shift even in the last three years [towards social media],” she said. “With Gen Z coming into the workforce . . . mine sites are allowing more photos, content creation and science communicators like myself.”
Influencers in mining are making an impact because they’re individuals telling their own stories, which has a resonance that corporate media lacks, Scanlan said.
“Being able to explain something simply in a short video [builds] that niche of ‘Hey I’m just a person’ versus ‘Hey, I’m just a company.’” Among the most active – and popular – influencers is Paula Sierra, also known as Paula Mineria, who is in her final year of studying mining and metallurgy at the National University of Colombia in Medellin.
Her videos are mainly site visits that focus on certain angles such as technology, operations or the environment. She edits the videos with music, quick cuts, small animated graphics and sometimes with English subtitles. Mineria shoots mostly in Colombia and has also done videos in Japan, Chile, Panama, Canada and the United States.
Her focus also integrates her own life with mining, and an early May video followed how gold goes from the mine and into wedding rings, on the occasion of her engagement to Juan Diego, also a mining influencer. She even landed an interview with Teck Resources’ (TSX: TECK.A/TECK.B; NYSE: TECK) CEO Jonathan Price.
Since the 28-year-old began posting mine videos in 2022, she has rocketed to 110,600 followers on TikTok, with 1.6 million likes. For context, given mining’s relatively small social media footprint compared to other sectors, Mineria’s impact is heavy amid the industry’s online presence.
New perspectives
“I wanted to show a different perspective on mining,” she said in a video call. “I was born in a coal mining town. People don’t know about the importance of mining for daily life or in a house or in technology.”
She also wanted to show the legitimate side of the industry whose image has been sullied due to illegal mining’s impacts on the environment.
“We have too much illegal mining in Colombia,” she said. “The people don’t know the difference between legal mining and illegal mining. It’s very difficult in Latin America.”
Though school and social media consume most of her time these days, she’s feeling more supported than before. Previously, she had to pay her own travel expenses to mine sites. Now, more companies pay for travel and video production costs.
The non-profit International Women in Mining named Mineria an Emerging Leader for International Day of Women in Mining 2025 for her highlighting responsible practices.
“I was very happy because I didn’t believe being an influencer was important,” she said. “It’s very great because I changed the perspective in the mining sector and among other people.”
Eyes underground
Further north, Cory Rockwell, 42, has drawn 117,100 followers and 5 million likes on TikTok for his posts on working underground in Nevada and Alaska.
Credit: Cory Rockwell
Rockwell, whose job at Coeur Mining’s (NYSE: CDE) Kensington gold mine in southeast Alaska includes explosives work, haul trucking and bolting, started working in mining in 2011.
His influencer identity took shape about 2021 when a coworker in Nevada suggested he try TikTok. Though skeptical it was a wise use of time, he shot and uploaded a video of a refuge chamber. Hours later, it received 150,000 views.
“It blew up,” he said. “It really showed the interest people have in mining.”
He uploaded about 300 videos in his time at Barrick Mining’s (TSX: ABX; NYSE: B) Turquoise Ridge site in Nevada, where his influencer impact started to go deep.
Millions of views
Around 2023, he gained more than 100,000 followers and over 1 million likes for his content. One video grabbed 6.9 million views. It showed him scaling a wall, using a long, pointed bar to remove loose rock.
@coryrockwell #undergroundmining #undergroundminer #powder #coryrockwell #goldmine ♬ hall of fame – 3 minute audios
“I have close to zero competition, not many people do it at the level I’m doing it at,” he said. “There are lots of people who upload videos but they don’t have permission and you can’t see their face. A lot of the people who watch my videos may know mining is a thing, but they don’t really know a ton about it.”
While Mineria’s scope is thematically broader, Rockwell focuses more on the people he works with, mine safety, and the tasks he does underground.
For example, a recently pinned TikTok upload is a timelapse video of Rockwell using a boom lift to set a round of explosives on a wall. It clocked 103,300 views and 2,937 likes.
Preparation boosts views
After years of posting, Rockwell says good mining videos need good lighting and clear audio. And ensure people are wearing the correct safety equipment, or management won’t approve the video.
“I’m very careful with what I film,” he said. “There have been times I’ve got awesome footage but someone in the back wasn’t wearing safety glasses.”
Looking ahead, Rockwell plans to keep uploading videos from underground and isn’t interested in extra payment for his content. He would rather entertain people or help them get jobs.
“I want to show younger guys and women that you don’t have to go to college or go into debt to make more than $100,000 a year,” he said. “And people have assumptions that we’re poisoning the environment. A lot of younger people would want this job, they just don’t know about it.”
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