The University of Arizona has been awarded $1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to help grow the critical minerals workforce.
The UA is one of 16 recipients selected for the Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies initiative, or PROSPECT, which aims to expand educational opportunities for students pursuing mining degrees.
Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson made the announcement during a visit to the Freeport-McMoran Sierrita Mine in Green Valley on Monday.
“This is a never-before-done, unprecedented attack on the shortfall we have as a nation in delivering mining and critical minerals supply-chain educated workforce,” Robertson said.
Robertson leads the DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation.
The department awarded $1 million each to 16 universities around the country as part of the broader $100 million PROSPECT initiative to strengthen the critical minerals workforce and domestic supply chain.
The award is to help the recipients grow the amount of graduates in mining-related degrees. If they are able to demonstrate an increased graduate rate by 2028, then the universities could be eligible for additional funding from the $100 million pool.
In August, the UA was awarded nearly $2 million dollars from the agency to advance research and development in emerging extraction technologies by integrating nanobubbles, surfactants and UV generated reactive compounds to accelerate copper release from ore.
The UA is one of 14 accredited mining schools across the country.
Under President Suresh Garimella, the UA has outlined critical minerals mining as an area of “great strategic importance.”
Since then, the university has had at least 62 active awards sponsored by the DOE.
