DOE invests $100M in U.S. mining education

President Donald Trump announced during an Aug. 7 roundtable at the Department of State that the administration is providing $180 million in grants for mining programs. The funding includes a $100 million Department of Energy initiative to strengthen the critical minerals workforce and domestic supply chain.

“Today we are taking another historic action toward the future of American mining,” said the president. “For years, mining schools and colleges that are essential to training the future leaders of this industry have been sadly disappearing.”

University of Arizona participants – representing one of the country’s leading workforce development programs – Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, senior vice president for research and partnerships; Kray Luxbacher, Gregory H. and Lisa S. Boyce Leadership Chair of Mining and Geological Engineering; mining engineering professor Moe Momayez and students Alexandra Zadro and Esteban Garza, attended the roundtable. 

“In order to achieve American mineral dominance, we really need technology and talent, and your American mining schools are ready to get to work,” said panelist Luxbacher, head of the U of A’s School of Mining Engineering and Mineral Resources, one of only 14 accredited mining schools in the U.S.

The DOE is establishing PROSPECT – Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies – to double the number of graduates at the 14 schools. The Department of War has allocated an additional $80 million to the Colorado School of Mines, South Dakota School of Mines and Johns Hopkins University.

The Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration estimates more than half of the workforce will retire by 2029 – nearly 221,000 workers.

“PROSPECT gives us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvent how we discover, extract and process critical minerals,” said Díaz de la Rubia. “Artificial intelligence, robotics and automation are reshaping what’s possible across the field, creating one of the most exciting frontiers in science, engineering and entrepreneurship. At the University of Arizona, we're preparing students to lead that transformation and building the research ecosystem where it takes shape.”

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Critical minerals – copper, silicon, nickel and zinc, for example – support a broad range of industries, including aerospace, health care, semiconductors and clean energy technologies like solar panels and electric vehicles. According to the DOE, more than 80% of the U.S. supply of critical minerals comes from foreign sources.

“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 for the materials that underpin modern energy, manufacturing, and defense,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.

U of A ahead of the curve

Luxbacher has worked with industry and government partners to fast-track training since joining the U of A in 2022. She organized the inaugural U.S. Mining Summit in April 2025 to align academic and business leaders such as Rio Tinto and MP Materials on the mining industry’s priorities amid surging demand for minerals. The main takeaway: The industry needs a vibrant labor force. 

Her latest move to ease the labor shortage is MiningWerx, a national hub for mining education and research, which includes the U of A’s premier hands-on training facility and tech proving ground in Sahuarita, the San Xavier Underground Mining Laboratory.

“If the national agenda is long-term critical mineral security, we have to support the academic institutions training the workforce that makes it happen,” said Momayez, senior member of the National Academy of Inventors and associate head of the school.

The Arizona State Legislature provided $850,000 in Oct. 2025 to add a mineral-processing plant to the San Xavier Mine, and the federal government followed in Feb. 2026 with $3 million. Faculty, students, and industry partners use the plant to crush rock and separate materials with heat, hydrometallurgical processes and advanced sorting techniques. 

“It’s really exciting that mining is getting so much federal attention,” said Luxbacher. “It is the first building block in our supply chain.”

At the San Xavier Mine, students practice and mining company employees train on the same equipment used in industry.

“Not only are hands-on technical skills learned, but you also see the application of classroom concepts,” said Zadro, vice president of the U of A’s chapter of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration and vice president of the Women in Mining chapter.

Student workers help with design planning, maintenance for equipment and infrastructure, and installing sensors that prevent accidents.

“The SX is also a unique space to interact and work with industry professionals,” said Zadro, who is interning with South32.

With close industry connections, U of A’s mining engineering graduates experience 100% job placement.

“The mining industry is a constantly evolving industry, and the opportunities are very widespread in terms of technology,” said Garza, director of fundraising for U of A SME.

Garza, a second-generation mine employee interning with Ames Construction, is helping design infrastructure for mining operations.

“Being involved with the mining engineering program has its perks,” he said. “It heavily encourages students to connect with industry professionals.”

“It has opened doors for me.”