The Energy Department is offering up to $16 million to strengthen U.S. mining education and train workers for critical-mineral industries as federal officials seek to reduce dependence on China for strategically important materials.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.

The Department of Energy launched a $16 million competition Monday aimed at expanding the nation’s shrinking mining workforce as the United States seeks to increase domestic production and processing of critical minerals used in energy, manufacturing and defense.

DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation introduced the PROSPECT Planning Prize, which will provide individual mining and minerals programs with awards of up to $1 million to develop or expand education for workers involved in extracting, processing, recovering and recycling critical minerals, according to the Washington Examiner.

The program is intended to address a widening workforce shortage at the same time the Trump administration is attempting to build mineral supply chains inside the United States and reduce reliance on China.

DOE’s immediate target is particularly ambitious: double the number of graduates entering mining, minerals and related supply-chain fields within two years. The department estimates the country will require approximately 6,000 new mining engineers over the next decade, along with additional workers specializing in materials science, mineral processing and recycling.

“It is a highly aggressive prize designed with measurable outcomes,” Assistant Energy Secretary Audrey Robertson told the Examiner.

“The goal [is] to have graduates coming out of these programs with degrees and programs that are going to meet the needs of American reindustrialization,” Robertson added.

Federal officials say the existing pipeline of mining engineers is far below anticipated demand.

Only 163 students graduated with mining engineering degrees in the United States last year, Robertson said, compared with more than 3,000 graduates in China. Enrollment in American mining programs has fallen approximately 45% since 2015, according to DOE.

“There are not enough students going into these majors,” Robertson told the Examiner. “There are not enough schools that have maintained these programs.”

The $16 million prize represents one component of DOE’s much larger Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies initiative, known as PROSPECT.

The department announced PROSPECT in August, outlining plans to invest as much as $100 million in developing the workforce needed throughout the domestic critical-minerals supply chain.

The initiative extends beyond traditional mining engineering. DOE plans to support educational programs covering mineral extraction, processing, recovery and recycling while helping institutions establish new curricula, teaching resources, scholarships, financial assistance and other incentives intended to attract students into the field.

The effort reflects the growing strategic importance of critical minerals, which are used across industries ranging from batteries and semiconductors to electronics, advanced manufacturing and military technology.

Building a larger workforce is one piece of DOE’s strategy for reducing supply vulnerabilities. The department is also pursuing greater domestic mineral production, alternatives for materials that are scarce or difficult to obtain and increased recovery and recycling of minerals already present in industrial products and waste streams.

The administration has simultaneously directed federal funding toward physical production and processing capacity.

In August, DOE announced $162 million for nine projects intended to recover critical minerals and other valuable materials from industrial sources, complementing the workforce investments now moving through PROSPECT.

Federal officials argue that developing additional mineral resources will have limited impact if the country lacks enough engineers, scientists and skilled workers to operate mines, processing facilities and recycling operations.

“A strong domestic mining and minerals workforce is essential to powering America’s future, strengthening our national security, and ending our dependence on foreign adversaries,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said when the broader PROSPECT initiative was announced.

DOE said the nationwide program is intended to create the workforce necessary to support domestic production, processing, recovery and recycling while increasing the number of students entering fields that have experienced years of declining enrollment.

The new $16 million Planning Prize now moves that broader initiative into its next phase by directing funding toward schools capable of expanding the educational pipeline.

With U.S. mining programs producing only a fraction of the engineering graduates reported in China and federal estimates pointing to thousands of additional workers needed during the coming decade, DOE is seeking to make workforce development a central part of its effort to strengthen domestic critical-mineral supply chains.

Original article