The critical minerals workforce crisis

Mining projects can stall even after companies sign contracts, prepare sites, and hire drilling crews. The constraint is rarely absent workers. It is the absence of a legal structure to employ them.

Meeting demand for lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper will require between $500 billion and $600 billion in new mining capital investment through 2040, according to the International Energy Agency's Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025. The projects are coming. The question for any company is whether their workforce infrastructure can keep pace.

Lithium demand will grow fivefold by 2040. Copper demand will grow 30%. These are not short-term swings. Governments now treat critical minerals the way they once treated oil. They build supply chains across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

But the specialist supply is shrinking.

• Mining engineering enrollments fell 39% in the United States since 2016

• Mining enrollments fell 63% in Australia since 2014

• Specialist workers are aging

• The talent pipeline is drying up

Competition is fierce. Technology and aerospace companies offer better career paths and city locations. They can outbid mining for the same talent.

The result: A qualified drill operator or geotechnical engineer willing to relocate to Zambia or Ghana has multiple job offers. A mining company must move faster than competitors.

Why employment infrastructure matters as much as talent

Three-quarters of mining leaders lack confidence they can solve onsite labor shortages. 71% say talent gaps block production targets. 86% say hiring is harder than two years ago.

These numbers are real. But they hide a more specific problem: the legal infrastructure gap.

When you deploy workers to a new country, you have three options:

Option 1: Set up a local company

• Register a company

• Complete tax registration

• Set up social insurance

• Open a bank account

• Timeline: 3–12 months

• Cost: Significant legal and admin work

• Liability: You remain liable after the project ends

Option 2: Use a local staffing agency

• Timeline: Faster than Option 1

• Cost: Agencies add 40% or more to labor costs (qualification needed: buyer evaluation recommended, as costs vary by region and vendor)

• Quality control: Generalist agencies may not offer the technical screening, safety certifications, or occupational health clearances mining crews need

• Predictability: Costs are unpredictable over a multi-year project

Option 3: Employ workers from your home country

• Deploy workers as assigned

• Problem: Creates payroll complexity and tax risk

• Legal risk: Depends on worker status, job duties, and local law. Consult a qualified professional about jurisdiction-specific legal requirements before this approach.

Each option delays deployment. Each adds cost or risk.

How Deel's field services removes the delay

Deel's field services puts legal employment infrastructure in place before you hire. Instead of waiting months for company setup, you can deploy workers in days.

Here's how: Deel becomes the legal employer in the host country. You keep operational control of the work. Deel handles employment, payroll, and local compliance. You do not need to set up your own local company first.

Deployment timeline comparison:

Timeline subject to country, visa requirements, and onboarding completion

What field-workforce employment through an EOR looks like

An Employer of Record (EOR) allows companies to hire workers in countries where they have no legal entity. The EOR becomes the legal employer. The client company keeps operational control of the work.

Standard EOR works for office-based knowledge workers. Field operations have different compliance needs.

Deel's field services supports onsite industrial and resource workforces with workflows built for field deployments. Key requirements include:

Onsite employment obligations

• Mining and construction sites have health, safety, and environment (HSE) rules

• Workers' compensation frameworks and incident reporting are site-specific

• Clear roles: Deel, the client, and site operators each have responsibilities

Rotational payroll

• Many field workforces work on rotation schedules

• Payroll and tax obligations vary by worker and jurisdiction

Immigration coordination

• A drill supervisor relocating to a mining site may need a technical specialist visa or intracompany transfer

• These are different from standard work permits

• Immigration preparation can start alongside employment onboarding, but government timelines apply

Local content requirements

• Many African and Latin American jurisdictions require projects to employ a set percentage of local workers

• Deel handles employment administration and provides country-specific guidance

• Meeting local-content rules involves broader legal and operational assessment

Pre-employment screening

• Field deployments require occupational health screenings before travel to site

• These must be coordinated into the deployment plan

Deel serves as the legal employer and manages employment and payroll. The client manages day-to-day work and keeps applicable workplace and site responsibilities.

How Deel's field services shortens deployment timelines

The key advantage: the client avoids waiting to set up its own legal company before an eligible hire begins.

When a company registers a new entity in Ghana or Tanzania, it starts from zero:

• Company registration

• Tax registration

• Social insurance registration

• Bank account setup

All must complete before a single contract can sign.

Where Deel's employment infrastructure already exists, multiple activities run in parallel instead of sequentially:

Faster contract preparation

• Contracts can be prepared without waiting for the client to set up its own entity

Work-permit preparation

• Where supported and legally permitted, work-permit prep can run alongside employment onboarding

• Government timelines still apply

Existing payroll workflow

• Deel can onboard eligible workers into a ready payroll system

• No need for the client to build its own payroll operation

Predictable pricing

• EOR pricing is a per-worker fee

• This is easier to forecast than: entity setup costs + registered office fees + legal maintenance + staffing agency uncertainty over multi-year projects

Why deployment speed matters in key mining regions

Critical minerals projects operate in challenging markets. Zambia and Ghana mine copper. Indonesia and the Philippines have nickel and cobalt. The Lithium Triangle—Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia—leads lithium production.

These regions have strict employment rules. Companies need local knowledge to operate safely and legally.

The key difference: owned entities vs. partner networks

Some providers use local partner networks. This adds one more organization to manage.

Deel owns employment entities in these countries. Deel employs workers directly through local offices.

Both approaches follow local law. The difference:

• Partner network approach: Faster to launch, but employment runs through a third party

• Owned entity approach: You work directly with one legal employer who knows the local rules

For fast deployment, direct ownership matters.

Deel's owned-entity footprint in Africa

Deel acquired Employ Africa Group in 2025. (Verify: Confirm current country list against maintained Deel coverage page or add "as of [date]")

This gave Deel legal entities in:

• South Africa

• Ghana

• Zambia

• Uganda

• Namibia

• Mozambique

• Gabon

In these countries, you can hire workers immediately. You do not need to set up your own local company. Local rules, immigration, and permits still apply. But the employment layer is instant.

Why this speeds up project start:

When Deel owns the entity:

• Workers deploy in days, not months

• You skip the long setup process

• The local legal employer is already in place

In regions where Deel works through partners, Deel vets and monitors them to keep standards high.

Deploy critical minerals workforces faster with Deel's field services

The contract is signed. The site is ready. Your workers are ready.

The only thing stopping you is legal employment structure.

Deel's field services removes that delay.

Deel employs workers in 150+ countries. (Verify: Confirm "105+ owned entities" figure against current Deel product documentation) We own entities in over 100 of them. No months of incorporation. No local company setup. Workers deploy in days.

One site engineer or fifty crew members — the process is the same. You hire. Deel handles employment and payroll as the legal employer.

The result: Your team starts operations on time instead of waiting for paperwork.

Ready to move faster? Contact our field services team to learn how to deploy your critical minerals workforce without entity setup delays.