Trump said Friday that the country’s mining colleges are only producing 170 coal-mining graduates a year.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
The Trump administration is investing $180 million into America’s mining colleges in an effort to revitalize the nation’s mining and mineral processing industry and reduce reliance on foreign competitors, like China.
The bulk of the grants—$100 million—will come from the Department of Energy as part of the Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies (PROSPECT) initiative. PROSPECT funds will be used to try to double the number of graduates with degrees related to mining, minerals and associated supply chain technologies within the next two years. The remaining $80 million will come from the Department of Defense and be used to “build technology innovation hubs.”
The DOD money will go to the Colorado School of Mines, the South Dakota School of Mines and Johns Hopkins University. Universities will likely have to apply for the Energy Department’s funding.
