Trump: U.S. to Invest $3 Billion in Critical Minerals Mining, Processing, Workforce

The U.S. government will invest $3 billion in critical minerals mining, processing and workforce development initiatives, President Trump said late last week (POLITICO’s E&E News, subscription).

What’s going on: The announcement, made at a State Department event Friday, “marks yet another expansion of the Trump administration’s mineral spending spree that’s drawn widespread praise across an industry struggling to gain a foothold against Beijing’s dominance of critical minerals supply chains.”

• The Pentagon will award a $1.4 billion loan to Sila Nanotechnologies for the expansion of next-generation battery material production in Washington state.
• The Department of Defense will invest $400 million to expand production of the defense mineral scandium in Australia, according to the president.
• Niron Magnetics in Minnesota will get a $150 million loan to build rare earth magnets.

Workforce development: The president has also announced $180 million in grants and educational investments to boost the mining workforce in the U.S.

• Half of the American mining workforce is scheduled to retire by 2029.
• China graduates more than 3,000 mining engineers a year compared to America’s 170, Trump said.
• To close that gap, “the Energy Department’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation announced a notice of intent to award up to $100 million for an effort dubbed the Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies, or PROSPECT, initiative [which] aims to double the number of graduates with degrees related to mining, minerals and associated supply chain technologies within two years, DOE said.”
• The Colorado School of Mines is also partnering with the U.S. Geological Survey to construct a new facility focused on minerals using congressionally authorized funding.

Why it’s important: Bolstering domestic production and processing of critical minerals—and ensuring we have a sufficiently skilled and robust workforce—is vital to U.S. national security, as the NAM said in its recently released critical minerals policy agenda.

The NAM says: “[Friday’s] announcement takes on a critical challenge facing manufacturing: nearly half a half a million jobs across the manufacturing industry remain unfilled.”

• “The administration’s focus on workforce training is an important step toward building the skilled workforce manufacturers need to grow and compete and aligns with the NAM’s comprehensive strategy to strengthen critical mineral supply chains and ensure manufacturers have access to the key industrial inputs they need,” NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said on X after Friday’s event.