President Donald Trump on Friday convened a roundtable discussion at the State Department with mining executives and university officials as the administration continues its efforts to boost the domestic supply of minerals that are necessary for national security and defense.
University of Utah President Taylor Randall attended the event, posting about it later on social media.
Trump said the U.S. must focus on its mining industry to achieve economic independence.
“250 years ago, America won our political independence in the Revolutionary War,” Trump said. “In my first term, we secured our energy independence, and now in my second term, we’re achieving our economic independence, ensuring that America is never again reliant on hostile foreign nations for the resources our country needs to dominate in the future.”
The White House said that more than $2 billion would be going toward mining and “mining-related projects” to help “revitalize the industry.”
More than $180 million will go to 14 mining schools across the country to “bolster” the workforce going forward, Trump announced. The University of Utah is included among those schools, but school officials don’t know yet how much they will receive, a university spokesperson told the Deseret News.
The investments, the White House said, will help “mitigate and reverse” supply chain vulnerabilities, bolster U.S. resilience in the industry from “geopolitical disruptions,” and ensure that the sector will be secure and domestically sourced.
Currently China dominates the critical minerals market, including for minerals necessary for weapons manufactured in the U.S., which have been depleted during the Iran war.
“Let’s be clear: critical minerals are more than an economic issues, they’re national security issues,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. “If we want to lead in advanced manufacturing, (artificial intelligence,) semiconductors, energy defense, we can’t depend on our foreign adversaries for the materials that underpin our industries. We just can’t.”
Some minerals, including tungsten, germanium and rare earth minerals are vital for production of missiles, fighter aircraft, armored vehicles, infrared sensors and other weapons systems, Reuters reported.
Attendees at the event included Vickey Peacey, the president of Resolution Copper, Jim Litinsky, the CEO of rare earths mineral producer MP Materials, Tom Albanese, chairman of the deep-sea mining company American Ocean Minerals, and others.
On the investment in mining schools, Trump noted that there are thousands of graduates each year that go into different fields, but now, there are “less than 170 mining engineers” graduating each year compared to 3,000 graduating per year in China.
“That’s why my administration is taking unprecedented financial commitment to our nation’s mining schools,” he said.
In a post on Instagram from the White House, Utah’s President Randall thanked the White House and Energy Department for their investment and for including students in the conversation on Friday.
Over the summer, the university has “continued to build momentum” around critical minerals after launching the Institute for Critical Strategic Minerals earlier this year, he said, which has a focus on the nation’s “economic competitiveness, technological leadership and security.”
Randall was joined by two Utah students in the mining program, who he said are the “next generation of the industry,” which has him feeling “optimistic about the future of this work.” Mining Department Chair Pratt Rogers also attended.
“Utah has a remarkable combination of natural resources, research expertise and experience to be a leader and innovator in this field,” he said. “At the U, we are bringing those strengths together to advance new discoveries, develop talent and find solutions that will benefit us all.”
Utah congressman sponsored Mining Schools Act
Utah Rep. Burgess Owens sponsored the Mining School Act, which was included in the National Defense Authorization Act that passed the House in July. The legislation would provide grants to mining-related programs at colleges and universities.
The University of Utah is expected to play a prominent role in the future of mining education, with the university housing one of only 14 accredited mining engineering programs in the country.
At the roundtable Friday, Paul Johnson, the president of the Colorado School of Mines, thanked the president for his investment in universities and said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s experts in critical minerals will be heading to the campus in Golden, Colorado.
Trump closed out the event by saying it was an “honor” for him to be in the room with the executives.
“These are the people that really built America, and you were not treated properly. But we’re making up for lost time,” he said.
Contributing: Jason Swensen