Natural resource industries, such as mining, metals, minerals, and energy and power, are inherently high risk, characterized by hazardous operating environments, remote locations, and complex regulatory requirements. Across all major regions for these sectors, people‑related risks – ranging from workforce safety to long‑term health, retirement, and labor obligations – are increasingly shaping operational resilience and financial outcomes.
Many of these challenges are global in nature. Talent shortages, accident and injury exposure, rising healthcare costs, regulatory complexity, and ageing workforces are affecting companies around the globe. However, the way these risks manifest is often shaped by local labor markets, social security systems, infrastructure maturity, and regulatory regimes.
In Latin America, abundant natural resources, combined with evolving labor regulation, constrained public healthcare systems, rapid demographic change, and heightened social and political sensitivity around these industries, create a distinct set of workforce-related risks. This article considers these challenges in depth, including the consequences for operators, and examines how risk management and HR teams can proactively manage and mitigate risks.
The below graph highlights the risks that we discuss in this article, rating them based on the likelihood of them impacting organizations in the mining and energy sectors, and by how severe the impact of those risks could be.
1. Talent scarcity and turnover
Due to the specialized nature of roles within these sectors, and a high degree of staff turnover due to intense and hazardous working environments, many organizations lack a ready talent supply. A McKinsey & Company survey of global mining leaders (opens a new window) found that 71% of them advised that the talent shortage is holding them back from delivering on production targets and strategic objectives.
In the energy and power industry, an IEA report from 2025 (opens a new window) found that out of 700 energy-related companies, unions and training institutions, more than half reported that critical hiring bottlenecks threaten to slow the building of energy infrastructure, delay projects, and raise system costs. Not only must new employees be adequately trained, but existing employees must be regularly upskilled to keep pace with technological change.
This challenge is further complicated by the remote location of work sites. According to research from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), territorial discrepancies in employment have widened (opens a new window) across Latin America in recent years, with urban areas consolidating their share of participation in the labor market. As such, employers increasingly face the logistical challenge of transporting their workforce to and from sites to maintain effective operation.
Operations located in remote or difficult-to-access areas result in significantly higher costs for medical evacuations and transportation. This increases the average severity of claims in life insurance and group medical expenses. To combat this, Fly-In-Fly-Out (FIFO) workforce models have been adopted in regions around the world. Australia now relies heavily on FIFO workforces, which provide a practical solution for mining operators in the vast and remote parts of Western Australia and Queensland.
2. Accident and injury exposure
These are hazardous industries, with mining, metals, and minerals in particular carrying significant risk of accident, injury, and fatality. According to the ILO, mining is the world’s most hazardous occupation (opens a new window), accounting for 8% of all fatal accidents at work, despite only representing 1% of the global workforce. These industries involve heavy and complex machinery, hazardous work environments (at height or confined spaces), high-voltage electrical threats, and more.
Within Latin America, these risks are compounded by the additional threat of political violence and illegal mining operations (opens a new window). In May 2025, mining activity was suspended for 30 days (opens a new window) in Peru’s northern district of Pataz, after 13 gold mine workers were kidnapped and killed. Across Latin America, energy and power infrastructure faces a similar overlay of political‑violence risk. One leading insurer reports (opens a new window) that the number of countries in which it now underwrites political violence cover has more than doubled, from seven markets in 2019 to eighteen in 2023, as grids, generation assets, and transmission networks have become increasingly exposed to social unrest, sabotage and geopolitical tensions.
Across the region, occupational accidents and injuries are typically covered by national social security programs, while employers’ insurance schemes have historically been limited to senior or critical roles. However, demand for the latter is increasing as employees at all levels seek out greater levels of protection. According to data from Lockton’s benefits surveys in Latin America, mining companies are now more likely than the average employer to offer an employee life insurance scheme. This suggests the industry is already adapting to worker demand.
Throughout Latin America, the mining industry maintains a high dependence on contractors, who represent on average between 40% and 71% of the operational workforce, increasing exposure to occupational risks, turnover, and the complexity of providing insurance. According to one analysis of the Peruvian mining industry (opens a new window), approximately 42.8% of fatal accidents (opens a new window) occur at contracting companies, demonstrating a greater vulnerability among outsourced personnel. A similar pattern is visible in the energy sector. Recent global data for oil, gas and power operations show that contractors account for nearly four out of five work‑related deaths (opens a new window), underscoring how heavily outsourced workforces concentrate safety vulnerabilities and complicate the delivery of consistent protection and insurance benefits.
3. Regulatory change
Across Latin America, labor and employment legislation is undergoing a sustained and material transformation. Governments have tightened standards on working hours, overtime, contractor classification, and union engagement, while expanding expectations around employee health and wellbeing. Several jurisdictions, including Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil have introduced shorter working week proposals (opens a new window), mandatory rest periods, and enhanced protections for high-risk occupations.
This creates a dual challenge. As compliance requirements become more complex, HR, legal, and operational teams face a growing administrative burden, while trying to avoid the financial and reputational consequences of failure. Meanwhile, employers face the rising cost of labor, with potentially significant implications for workforce planning and long-term project viability. Where they arise, disagreements between employers and their workforce can be a trigger for labor unrest (opens a new window), potentially halting production or delaying key projects.
4. Rising healthcare benefit costs
New technologies, higher utilization rates, and the growing prevalence of chronic conditions are driving up the costs of healthcare across the globe as evidenced in Lockton’s 2026 Global Healthcare cost trends (opens a new window) report. In Mexico, out-of-pocket spending increased by 41.4% (opens a new window) between 2018–2024, while catastrophic health expenditures (defined as those exceeding over 30% of a household’s capacity to pay) surged 64.5% during the same period.
In tandem, confidence in public social security systems has been eroded by longer wait times, reduced coverage, and declining service quality. As a result, employees are increasingly turning to employer-sponsored health plans for reliable access to care. For mining employers, this creates a long-term cost challenge. Workforces are typically dispersed across remote geographies with limited access to medical infrastructure, requiring employers to invest in private networks and onsite medical support. Claims are trending higher, too – as employees use private coverage more actively, and providers cluster around industrial regions, inflating local pricing.
5. Retirees
Latin America was once defined by its youth; now, a rapid demographic transition is reshaping long-term workforce liabilities. According to the UN’s Economic Council for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the region will see people aged 60 and over double by 2050 (opens a new window), when they will account for 25.1% of the total population.
Despite this, retirement preparedness remains low. Many employees have limited savings, and employer-sponsored pension plans are uncommon, particularly among lower-income workers. As a result, employees in the mining sector, many of whom are on lower salaries, are staying in their roles for longer, often out of financial necessity. Meanwhile, white collar employees (including those in managerial or other senior positions) expect the continuation of historically generous healthcare benefits into retirement. The result is a widening gap between what employees expect, and what employers can viably provide.
Managing your people risk
Taken together, these challenges create a more complex and demanding people risk environment for employers. To address this, operators must shift from reactive problem solving to proactive risk management.
Key steps for organizations:
Invest in workforce planning – To maximize employee engagement and retention, organizations must strengthen recruitment pipelines for specialized roles and invest in the development of effective reskilling pathways. Long-term planning is essential to prepare for ageing-workforce and retiree obligations, especially for roles in remote and high-demand environments.
Enhance safety culture and training – Organizations should prioritize rigorous safety protocols to minimize operational hazards and reduce the likelihood and severity of accidents. Competencies should be regularly refreshed, with specific training for sector-specific equipment and threats.
Prioritize health and wellbeing initiatives – On-site medical support and vetted provider networks can offer employees reliable access to care where public systems are strained. Ensure programs offer a broad range of support for employees’ physical and mental health needs.
Promote transparent communication – Maintain open dialogue with unions, employees, and regulators with regards to working conditions, safety expectations, and operational changes. This can reduce the risk of disputes, strengthen compliance, and strengthen organizations’ long-term social license to operate.
Leverage data effectively – By extracting workforce, claims, and utilization data, organizations can detect emerging issues early – from rising medical costs in specific regions to patterns of injury or absenteeism. This can help to ensure benefits remain relevant, cost-appropriate, and aligned with operational realities.
Explore risk transfer solutions – Consider insurance structures that support resilience, including Workers’ Compensation and Employer Liability cover, Group Health and Medical Stoploss to manage inflationary pressures, Directors’ and Officers’ insurance for employment related claims, and pension or retiree medical solutions where available. For larger or more complex organizations, captives, and regional or global pooling arrangements can help further optimize costs.
Talk to us
Lockton’s People Solutions practice works with operators across Latin America and beyond to map people risks across geographies and sectors. Our experts draw on sector specific insights to design and deliver tailored benefits packages and insurance programs backed by robust risk management frameworks.
Reach out to a member of our team to improve your risk resilience, benchmark your current benefits program, or explore further options to protect your operations.
