00:00The U.S. just put real money behind rebuilding an industry that's been shrinking for decades,
00:05domestic mining.
00:06The Department of Energy's Office of Critical Mineral and Energy Innovation launched the
00:11Prospect Planning Prize, offering mining and minerals programs awards of up to $1 million
00:16each.
00:17The goal is expanding education for workers who extract, process, and recycle critical
00:22minerals, the raw materials behind everything from batteries to defense technology.
00:27The program targets a widening workforce shortage as the country builds domestic mineral supply
00:32chains and cuts reliance on foreign sources, especially China.
00:37DOE's target is ambitious, doubling the number of graduates entering mining fields within
00:41just two years.
00:43Officials say without a trained workforce, mineral resources won't matter if nobody's qualified
00:48to extract them.
00:49Disclosure.
00:50This video contains stock footage and content created or enhanced using AI-assisted tools.
Comments