Michigan Tech wins $1 million critical minerals planning prize

Michigan Technological University in Houghton will receive $1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop workforce-training plans for the critical minerals industry.

The DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation selected Michigan Tech as one of 16 universities nationwide to share $16 million through the Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies (PROSPECT) Planning Prize, the university announced Tuesday, Oct. 27. Michigan Tech is the only Michigan university on the list.

The prize supports plans to increase the number of graduates and credentialed professionals entering mining and related supply chain fields by the end of 2028, according to the prize-program page. Michigan Tech holds the state’s only accredited mining engineering bachelor’s degree program.

“America has abundant natural resources, but we need the skilled workforce to turn those resources into economic drivers that will grow our economy and create new jobs,” Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson said in the DOE announcement. Robertson said PROSPECT aims to “rapidly grow the number of graduates ready to build and sustain the American critical minerals supply chains, from mines to materials.”

DOE said the United States faces a growing shortage of skilled mining and critical minerals professionals. The country will need an estimated 6,000 new mining engineers over the next decade, according to the DOE.

The university identified three departments with particular expertise in critical minerals and materials training: Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, Materials Science and Engineering, and Chemical Engineering.

The PROSPECT Planning Prize is part of a broader $100 million DOE initiative to rebuild domestic supply chains for materials used in energy, manufacturing and defense technologies. The prize program is funded by the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation and managed by the National Laboratory of the Rockies.

Michigan Tech, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, said the award connects to PROSPECT’s goal of doubling the critical mineral workforce to support the next energy transition.

Other selected universities include Colorado School of Mines, Columbia University, the University of Arizona and the University of Utah. Michigan Tech’s announcement does not identify specific new programs or courses the award will support.