U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

57–243 PDF WASHINGTON : 2025

S. HRG. 118–467 

DIGGING DEEPER: BUILDING OUR 

CRITICAL MINERALS WORKFORCE 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE 

SAFETY 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, 

LABOR, AND PENSIONS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

ON

EXAMINING BUILDING OUR CRITICAL MINERALS WORKFORCE 

JUNE 12, 2024 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov 
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS 

BERNIE SANDERS (I), Vermont, Chairman 

PATTY MURRAY, Washington 

ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania 

TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin 

CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut 

TIM KAINE, Virginia 

MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire 

TINA SMITH, Minnesota 

BEN RAY LUJA` N, New Mexico 

JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado 

ED MARKEY, Massachusetts 

BILL CASSIDY, M.D., Louisiana, Ranking 

Member 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine 

LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska 

MIKE BRAUN, Indiana 

ROGER MARSHALL, M.D., Kansas 

MITT ROMNEY, Utah 

TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama 

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma 

TED BUDD, North Carolina 

WARREN GUNNELS, Majority Staff Director 

BILL DAUSTER, Majority Deputy Staff Director 

AMANDA LINCOLN, Minority Staff Director 

DANIELLE JANOWSKI, Minority Deputy Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE SAFETY 

JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado, Chairman 

ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania 

TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin 

TIM KAINE, Virginia 

BEN RAY LUJA` N, New Mexico 

ED MARKEY, Massachusetts 

BERNIE SANDERS (I), Vermont, (ex officio) 

MIKE BRAUN, Indiana 

ROGER MARSHALL, M.D., Kansas 

MITT ROMNEY, Utah 

TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama 

TED BUDD, North Carolina 

BILL CASSIDY, M.D., Louisiana, (ex officio) 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

STATEMENTS 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2024 

Page 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Hickenlooper, Hon. John, Chairman, Subcommittee on Employment and 

Workplace Safety, Opening statement ............................................................... 1 

Braun, Hon. Mike, Ranking Member, U.S. Senator from the State of Indiana, 

Opening statement ............................................................................................... 3 

WITNESSES

Arnold, Barbara J., Ph.D., P.E., Chair of Mining Engineering, Professor of 

Practice in Mining Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA ................................................................................................... 4 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 6 

Baskaran, Grace, Ph.D., Director of the Project on Critical Minerals Security, 

Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC ................... 8 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 10 

Evans, Jon, President and CEO, Lithium Americas, Reno and Winnemucca, 

NV ......................................................................................................................... 16 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 18 

Zisch, Bill, J. Steven Whisler Head of Mining Engineering, Colorado School 

of Mines, Golden, CO ........................................................................................... 19 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 21 

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL 

Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc. 

Hickenlooper, Hon. John: 

The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, 

Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW), 

Statement for the Record ............................................................................. 37 

MP Materials Corp., Statement for the Record ............................................. 41 

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DIGGING DEEPER: BUILDING OUR 

CRITICAL MINERALS WORKFORCE 

Wednesday, June 12, 2024 

U.S. SENATE, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE SAFETY, 

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:35 p.m., in room 

562, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John Hickenlooper, presiding. 

Present: Senators Hickenlooper [presiding], Casey, Smith, and 

Braun. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HICKENLOOPER 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. The Subcommittee on Employment and 

Workplace Safety will come to order. 

Today’s hearing is going to explore how we can strategically 

build our critical minerals workforce. My co-chair, Ranking Member Braun, and I will each give an opening statement. Then, we’ll 

introduce the witnesses and after the witness give their testimony. 

Senators will have 5 minutes to ask a round of questions. 

Last month, the Subcommittee convened a hearing about the importance of health and safety in the overall mining industry. And 

our witnesses talked about America’s mining history and practices 

we can adopt to enhance the safety of our workers today, and going 

into the future. 

Today, we’re going to dig deeper into the future, talk about how 

to build the critical minerals workforce that our Country’s going to 

depend on for decades to come. 

I think it’s fair to say right now, America’s in the middle of a 

great transition to a clean economy. But to reach full energy independence, we’re going to need to build faster and to build smarter. 

To power the transition, we’re going to need critical minerals just 

as we do the transition, and we’re going to need a lot of them. According to the International Energy Agency, mineral demand could 

double by 2030 and quadruple by 2040. Those are sobering statistics to say the least. 

Globally, we don’t have nearly enough of some of these minerals, 

but even for the minerals we do have, processing facilities are controlled by a relatively small number of countries. Not all of them 

are allied with our values, and even if they were all our friends, 
2 

we end up with bottlenecks in supply and the resulting geopolitical 

competition. 

As mineral demand rises, I think we’re going to see that vulnerability increase, as far as actors try to insert themselves into our 

supply chain, manipulate prices for their own benefit. 

I think China’s made it clear that they are aggressive in this 

type of role, especially as in terms of processing minerals that 

would be crucial for our national and for our energy security. 

As a couple of examples, China dominates 70 percent of rare 

earth element production, 90 percent of the processing. These minerals are crucial for wind turbines, for electric vehicles, missile systems, I could go on. It’s a long list, as you all know. 

To meet our clean energy goals, reduce our dependence on China, 

we need to increase domestic production and processing of critical 

minerals and strengthen our alliances with international partners. 

Preparing for this new wave of domestic minerals production it’s a 

little bit like a jigsaw puzzle. All the right pieces have to get in the 

right place at the right time if this is really going to work. 

A key piece of the puzzle is recruiting and training and making 

sure you can retain a robust, talented, diverse, resilient workforce 

that could address critical minerals. 

It’s estimated that the critical minerals workforce will need to 

double over the next 5 years to just meet the needs we now project. 

But instead of the workforce growing, what we’ve seen in the last 

couple years is a decline. And over a longer term, we’ve seen a decrease of roughly 40 percent over the last 30 years. 

Many workers are retiring as that average age, got older and 

older. Some have moved into other industries. I think even more 

concerning our talent pipelines are not in shape. They’re not fit to 

be able to deliver the number of skilled workers we need and making sure these workers have the right skills. 

While China is graduating literally thousands of students from 

mining related programs every year, the U.S. has only about 600 

students over total enrollment right now. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we’ll need at least 

70,000 more craftsmen to build out these work sites. We’ll also 

need surveying, mapping technicians to make sure that we can find 

the mineral deposits. We’re going to need upskilling and reskilling 

our workforce to meet the diverse demands that this is all going 

to require, especially for all these workforce slots. 

A lot of this has got to happen in rural communities. There are 

certainly some bright lights in our State of Colorado. The Colorado 

School of Mines is a leader, in the way in how you go about training engineers and chemical processors and geologists. As a recovering geologist myself, I’m sensitive to the challenge involved in 

that educating process. 

Unions like the United Steelworkers and International Union of 

Operating Engineers are offering apprenticeship and other training 

opportunities to train not just engineers, but construction workers 

and heavy equipment operators, equipment servicers. 

This is all a great start, but we need to build and expand these 

programs, and we need to learn from our international partners 
3 

like Australia and Canada, that have maintained their energy in 

this regard over these last few decades, when we have maybe 

backed off. 

In many ways they are ahead of the game in training this next 

generation of crucial mineral workforce. So, it’s time to get building, today we’re going to get to hear from a panel of experts, as we 

begin to craft a blueprint to expand the critical minerals workforce. 

I want to thank my co-chair, Senator Braun, and his staff for 

working with us to host this hearing. And before I hand it off to 

Senator Braun for his opening, I want to submit two statements for 

the record. The first statement is from the United Steel Workers 

Union. The other is from MP Materials, a Nevada-based company 

in support of today’s hearing. 

[The following information can be found on page 37 in Additional 

Material:] 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. With that, I’ll recognize Ranking Member Braun for his opening statement, and to also introduce our first 

witness. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR BRAUN 

Senator BRAUN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Critical minerals 

have been regarded as the building blocks of U.S. economic and national security. The physical and chemical traits of these unique 

materials allow them to be applied to advanced technologies that 

can benefit our Nation in many ways. 

Strengthening America’s critical minerals helps to reduce our reliance on getting these materials from adversarial countries, and it 

seems to be a lot of that is at play currently. Additionally, our critical minerals supply chain is an important issue for strengthening 

American manufacturing and keeping jobs here in the U.S. as part 

of a connected supply chain. 

Strength of America’s critical minerals largely depend on the 

strength of the workforce. And in so many different places in our 

Country, the workforce just has not stayed up with the demand. 

So, much of that has to do with how we educate kids and advise 

them when they’re in high school. 

This should be starting in middle school, and a lot of the programs that would’ve prepared kids for this have been disbanded. 

And we don’t have the guidance systems. We don’t have higher 

education working together, especially through transparency on 

what these high demand, high wage jobs are. 

To me that is simple and for too long, we’ve kind of just hid behind a system that’s not doing it well in many arenas, not just critical minerals. This leads us into the issue of improving that workforce development. 

As with many industries facing shortages, we’re trying to still 

find that right mix. In my own State of Indiana, which is the biggest manufacturing state per capita, we’ve been talking about it for 

years. When I was in our state legislature back seven, 8 years ago, 

we had 15–20 different programs spending a billion dollars a year, 

not quite getting it right. 
4 

On my own, I built a business in my hometown and county. 

Found out our school systems were stigmatizing against pathways 

like this. Very simple, high demand, high wage jobs. Put it out 

there. Know what the career pay is going to be, what starting pay 

is, and what educational costs are going to be associated with it. 

It’s imperative that young people understand this along with their 

parents or else we will miss opportunities. 

The way to drive home this message is to make sure our kids 

and their parents have full information and transparency. 

We’re going to talk about it, particularly today on Critical Minerals. I get the opportunity here to introduce our first witness Dr. 

Barbara Arnold, who is a professor of Practice and Mining Engineering at the Penn State, which I won’t get into our competition 

with Indiana University and Purdue with Penn State. Let’s stay on 

a pleasant subject here. 

Dr. Arnold has over 30 years of experience in the coal and mineral industries, and over 20 years, she represented several coal and 

mineral processing equipment companies in the U.S. and consulted 

with coal companies and engineering contractors to develop flow 

sheets for new coal preparation plants and plant retrofits. 

She’s a recognized international expert in coal preparation, and 

we welcome her expertise to this panel. Thank you for being here. 

I Yield back. I think Dr. Arnold, you’re welcome to your opening 

statement. 

STATEMENT OF BARBARA J. ARNOLD, PH.D., P.E., CHAIR OF 

MINING ENGINEERING, PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE IN MINING ENGINEERING, THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, 

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA 

Dr. ARNOLD. Thank you, Senators, staff, and guests. Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to address you on a matter 

of utmost urgency, the need to expand our critical minerals workforce. 

My name’s Barbara Arnold, a professor of Practice and chair of 

the Mining Engineering Program at the Pennsylvania State University. I teach and conduct research on mining health and safety, 

focused on respirable dust and critical minerals, assessing the domestic critical mineral resources, especially in Appalachia. 

The National Academies hosted a workshop in late January, 

2024, supported by the United States Geological Survey titled, 

Building Capacity for the U.S. Mineral Resources Workforce. The 

workshop report was recently published. 

Let me quote from that report. ‘‘The 14 mining engineering programs across the United States collectively graduated only 162 students in 2023. Falling far short of the estimated employment demand for 400 to 600 mining engineering graduates per year in the 

United States. By contrast, China’s 45 mining engineering programs currently enroll about 12,000 students and graduate approximately 3000 annually, about 16 times the number of graduates in the U.S.’’ 

One might think that the need for critical minerals in a stable 

domestic supply would encourage increased enrollment in our min-
5 

ing engineering programs. But let me quote the NASEM report 

again. ‘‘A key concern expressed by several participants is that negative public perceptions of mining can dissuade students from considering a career in minerals extraction. 

For many, the minerals industry is linked with the legacy of environmental damage, which has been reinforced by negative depictions of the industry and popular culture. To begin to overcome this 

perception, several participants suggested focusing on reframing 

the industry as being part of the solution to environmental issues. 

Improving awareness of the role of mining in addressing climate 

change and environmental degradation could help to attract students who are passionate about the environment’’. 

The mining industry itself is moving toward a digital and autonomous future. We incorporate digital twins to optimize mining and 

mineral processing technology: We fly drones to monitor tailings, 

do aerial surveys of stockpiles and collect water samples. Autonomous haul trucks and trains move materials with automation and 

control technologies becoming increasingly sophisticated. 

The Society for Mining Metallurgy and Exploration, the lead U.S. 

based Mining professional society, is focused on workforce development. Their Ph.D., fellowship and career grant program helped address faculty shortages along with research funding for capacity 

building from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and 

Health. 

Those of us at the U.S. mining schools are revamping our curricula to incorporate this ever-changing landscape. At Penn State, 

we’ve added courses on automation and control and sustainability. 

Despite these efforts, we still need help attracting more students 

into our programs. In spring 2023, we graduated only four students 

with bachelor’s degrees in mining engineering at Penn State, 

they’re all employed with an average salary of $75,000. Our program should be attracting more students. 

In the QS University rankings, our Penn State Mining Engineering program is ranked second in the U.S. and 13th globally up, 

from 17th last year. So, we should be attracting talent. 

Incoming students just don’t know that mining exists. To address 

this, we’re offering our first ever MINING ROCKS! Penn State 

Summer Mining Camp in August, free of charge to the first 20 students, thanks to support of our alumni and mining industry partners. 

During the NASEM workshop, several other actions were suggested. One specific piece of suggestion was, to make sure that the 

K–12 curriculum incorporates the significance of minerals in our 

daily lives. For example, there are 62 different elements in a cell 

phone. All sourced from mining, electric vehicles require much 

more copper and other critical minerals than conventional cars. 

Wind turbines and solar panels all require critical minerals. 

The 2021 report by the International Energy Agency titled The 

Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions, says that 

mineral demand will increase by about four times by 2040 to meet 

climate goals. Where will the minerals come from? Who will mine 
6 

the minerals safely and responsibly? Everyone must understand 

that if it can’t be grown, it has to be mined. 

Miners play a crucial role in our society. They provide fertilizers 

in the metal for farm implements. They provide metals for trucks 

for catalytic converters in those trucks to reduce pollution, and 

they provide all the critical minerals in our increasingly high-tech 

everyday lives. 

Let’s take a moment to appreciate their hard work and dedication. Thank a miner every day. Thank you for allowing me to discuss the critical mineral workforce with you today. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Arnold follows.] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF BARBARA ARNOLD

Senators, staff, and guests. Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to 

address you regarding the urgent need to expand our critical minerals workforce. 

My name is Barbara Arnold, a professor of practice and chair of the mining engineering program at The Pennsylvania State University. I teach and conduct research on mine health and safety focused on respirable dust and on critical minerals, assessing the domestic critical mineral resource especially in Appalachia. I obtained my BS in mining engineering and MS and Ph.D., in mineral processing from 

Penn State, conducted coal beneficiation research at the Electric Power Research Institute’s Coal Cleaning Test Facility in Homer City, PA, and then started my own 

company, selling coal and mineral processing equipment to engineering contractors 

and coal and mineral companies, developing flowsheets for coal preparation plant 

retrofits and new construction. In 2020, I joined the faculty at Penn State. 

Allow me to start by saying that there are already issues related to the mining 

and mineral industry workforce, skilled labor as well as scientists and engineers. 

This will translate to even greater needs for the critical mineral workforce as we 

will need even more people equipped with mineral exploration, processing, extractive metallurgy, and refining backgrounds. We have 14 mining engineering programs in the U.S. and even fewer economic geology or processing and metallurgy 

programs. 

Related to the current mining and mineral industry workforce issues, the National Academies hosted a workshop in late January 2024 that was supported by 

the United States Geological Survey titled, Building Capacity for the U.S. Mineral 

Resources Workforce. The workshop report was recently published. Let me quote 

from that report: 

Kecojevic described a sharp drop-off in mining engineering enrollments, 

from a collective total of 1,449 U.S. undergraduate students in 2015 to just 

590 in 2023, a 60 percent decline over 9 years. The 14 mining engineering 

programs across the United States collectively graduated only 162 students 

in 2023, falling far short of the estimated employment demand for 400–600 

mining engineering graduates per year in the United States. By contrast, 

China’s 45 mining engineering programs currently enroll about 12,000 students and graduate approximately 3,000 a year—about 16 times the number of graduates in the United States. Keane stated that while enrollment 

in geosciences undergraduate programs may have rebounded to early 2010’s 

levels following the COVID–19 pandemic, there was a nearly 50 percent 

drop in enrollment in geoscience graduate programs after 2019. At the 

same time, demand is rising for geoscience support activities and professional services for mining. 

One might think that the need for critical minerals and a domestic supply of these 

would encourage increased enrollment in our mining engineering programs. But let 

me quote the NASEM report again: 

A key concern, expressed by several participants, is that negative public 

perceptions of mining can dissuade students from considering a career in 

minerals extraction. Climate change and environmental degradation are 

prominent issues for the current generation, and for many, the minerals industry is linked with a legacy of environmental damage, which has been reinforced by negative depictions of the industry in popular culture. To begin 

to overcome this perception, several participants suggested focusing on reframing the industry as being part of the solution to environmental issues. 
7 

For example, minerals extraction provides materials necessary for the technologies that play an important role in achieving decarbonization, such as 

wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles. Improving awareness of 

the role of mining in addressing climate change and environmental degradation could help to attract students who are passionate about the environment. ‘‘Without turning a blind eye to the real environmental damage 

that’s been done in the history of mining, we can still be very proud of mining and what it has done for our planet,’’ Misael Cabrera, University of Arizona, said. ‘‘In fact, modern civilization is simply not possible—medicine, 

computing, data analytics, take your pick—none of it is possible without 

minerals, and therefore without mining.’’ Cabrera also pointed to mine 

waste, remining, and reclamation as opportunities for the minerals industry 

to advance environmental stewardship. 

What can those of us in the trenches do? The Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and 

Exploration (SME), the lead U.S. based mining professional society, is taking this 

issue very seriously, and one of its strategic committees is focused on workforce development. As early as 2014, SME released a white paper titled, Workforce Trends 

in the U.S. Mining Industry, indicating significant shortages in scientists, engineers, 

skilled labor. At that time, SME addressed another critical need—the number of faculty available for our mining engineering programs. Their Ph.D., fellowship and career grant program helped address this along with research funding for capacity 

building from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. SME notably is also promoting a series of videos, Jobs of Tomorrow, available on YouTube. 

Yes, jobs of tomorrow. 

The mining industry itself is moving toward a digital future. We incorporate digital twins for optimization of mining and mineral processing technology; we fly 

drones to monitor tailings impoundments, do areal surveys of stockpiles, and collect 

water samples. Autonomous haul trucks and trains move materials. Automation and 

control technologies are becoming more and more sophisticated. Some of this will 

help to address worker shortages. However, we still need skilled scientists and engineers to ensure that we deliver our mined products in the safest and most responsible way and to develop new technologies to mine and process ores and waste materials. A recent report, called The Digital Underground, from Mining Magazine and 

Mining Monthly, discusses how data analytics will be key in incorporating the large 

data streams coming from underground mining equipment. Another report could be 

written on the digital surface mine or the digital processing plant. 

Those of us at the U.S. mining schools continue to address our curricula to incorporate this ever-changing landscape. At Penn State, we’ve added courses on automation and control and sustainability. Despite these efforts, we still struggle to attract 

more students into our programs. In spring 2023, we graduated only four students 

with bachelor’s degrees in mining engineering at Penn State. One is working for an 

engineering company in Utah, one in New York and one in Baltimore working in 

the aggregates industry. The fourth recently left an aggregates company in Virginia 

to work with a gold company in South Carolina. Their average starting salary with 

their bachelor’s degree was $75,000. This May, we graduated two who are starting 

their careers with aggregate companies, and a third will graduate in December. 

Good paying jobs, an increasingly safe and environmentally conscious industry, applications of high technology, addressing a key supply chain component—if it can’t 

be grown, it must be mined. Why do we not have more students? In the QS university rankings, our Penn State mining engineering program is ranked second in the 

U.S. and thirteenth globally (up from seventeenth last year), so we should be attracting talent. We know that the number of traditional-aged college students is decreasing. We know that other industries are also seeing a shortfall of workers. But 

if we don’t address the critical need for more mining and mineral processing engineers, we will not be able to meet our domestic critical mineral needs. 

We have offered seminars to students interested in STEM fields, and we have 

begun collaborating more closely with our College of Engineering advising staff. 

We’re offering our first-ever MINING ROCKS! Penn State Summer Mining Camp 

in August that is free-of-charge to the first 20 students that sign up. It’s free-ofcharge because it’s being sponsored by our alumni and mining industry contacts. 

The students that do enter our program often receive scholarships from our program 

endowments. We encourage them to apply for the many scholarships that are available for students in the industry. They visit mines, attend industry conferences, and 

hear from industry speakers. Many companies come to recruit interns and full-time 

employees each fall. Our students get multiple job offers. Our introductory mining 

course has about 70 students enrolled in both the Fall and Spring semesters. Most 

are upper-level students who are taking it as an elective and are well past consid-
8 

ering mining engineering as a major at that point. Incoming students just don’t 

know that mining exists. And it’s not just at Penn State. The University of Arizona’s 

program surveyed incoming students and found that many students were not aware 

of mining engineering as a career. That’s in a state that is ranked No. 2 in the value 

of non-fuel mineral production in the U.S. (Minerals Commodity Summary, USGS, 

2024). Arizona produces cement, copper, molybdenum mineral concentrates, sand 

and gravel for construction, and crushed stone and their principal commodities. 

Some actions were suggested during the NASEM workshop. One specific action 

is to include the importance of minerals in our daily lives in K–12 curriculum. There 

are 62 different elements in a cell phone—all need to be mined. Electric vehicles 

require much more copper and other critical minerals than conventional cars. Wind 

turbines and solar panels all require critical minerals. 

According to a 2021 report by the International Energy Agency titled, The Role 

of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions, mineral demand will increase by 

about four times by 2040 to meet climate goals. Where will the minerals come from? 

Who will mine the minerals safely and responsibly? We need everyone to understand that if it can’t be grown, it must be mined. 

Social media is a great place to see memes thanking farmers or thanking truck 

drivers. I agree that we should. But we also need to be thanking miners. Miners 

provide the fertilizers and the metal for farm implements. Miners provide metals 

for trucks and the catalysts for catalytic converters in those trucks to reduce pollution. And they provide all the critical minerals in our increasingly high-tech everyday lives. Thank a miner every day! 

Thank you for allowing me to discuss the critical mineral workforce with you 

today. I am happy to answer any questions. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Thank you, Dr. Arnold. I will make sure 

I thank a miner today, and in future days. Now, I’m happy to introduce our next guest, Dr. Gracelin Baskaran. Dr. Baskaran is the 

director of the project on Critical Mineral Security at the Center 

for Strategic and International Studies. Dr. Baskaran has garnered 

experience studying international and domestic critical minerals 

production, and regularly offers her expertise at universities and 

policy forums of all sizes in all shapes. 

Dr. BASKARAN. 

STATEMENT OF GRACELIN BASKARAN, PH.D., DIRECTOR OF 

THE PROJECT ON CRITICAL MINERALS SECURITY, CENTER 

FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, WASHINGTON, DC 

Dr. BASKARAN. Chairman Hickenlooper, Ranking Member Braun, 

and distinguished Members, thank you so much for having me. 

I’m honored to share my views on this topic today. I’d like to reflect a bit on how workforce has become an impediment to reducing 

our reliance on China, both domestically and internationally. 

By way of introduction, and I think it’s a little bit of a background, is I started in the mining industry 11 years ago through 

a Fulbright Fellowship from the U.S. State Department. And they 

very kindly dropped me into South Africa’s platinum belt, which 

was a bit of a culture shock at the time. But I really saw the longterm value of the sector, both economically and technologically, acknowledging how, for example, the automotive industry was changing, I grew up in metro Detroit. 

My career, which has taken me from the depths of the mines in 

South Africa through a Ph.D., into the halls of Washington, began 

with a Fulbright. And that framed some of my recommendations 
9 

that I would put forward about how we can actually make existing 

mechanisms better fit for purpose. 

Dr. Arnold did a great job, I don’t need to go too far down the 

numbers again. But we know that the Chinese education system, 

which has over 38 minerals processing schools and over 44 mine 

engineering programs, has really enabled them to build this dominant hold they have both on production and processing globally. 

Central South University, China’s biggest program, graduate 

about 1,000 undergraduates and 500 graduates alone ready to 

build that. When China cutoff our rare earth processing technology 

exports, it really struck us with a shortfall that we have in the 

knowledge to deploy that technology. 

A report published by the U.S. Department of Interior noted that 

the mining industry is having difficulty attracting young professionals. They always say if there’s two industries that are not attractive for the youth, it’s at being a farmer and being a miner. 

There’s two things again, I think Dr. Arnold hit really well. One 

is understanding its tech base now. We’re not in an era of picks 

and wheelbarrows. We’re really in an era of like what essentially 

resembles a NASA control room, if you’ve spent a lot of times at 

new modern mines. And the second is that mining is far more responsible than it was two decades ago. And as such, it doesn’t have 

that negative connotation. 

There’s three strategies that I would quickly propose. So, the 

first is to create a dedicated Fulbright program for the mining industry. Right now, we have the Fulbright Arctic Initiative, Fulbright Hays for school age educators and administrators. We have 

a Fulbright program for people building expertise in Europe. 

We have another one for artists, but a Fulbright program that 

does two things. It takes STEM graduates from the United States 

and sends them to programs—we have four of the top 12 mining 

programs in the world in Canada, four in Australia, there’s one in 

Saudi. It opens up potential to send our STEM graduates abroad, 

but it also gives us potential to bring faculty from abroad to the 

United States, to help build mining programs in geology programs. 

I grew up in a world of geology. My dad is a geology professor, 

and he said mining has just never been a presence and we need 

to bring that expertise to our geology and environmental science 

program. 

Second one I’m sure we’ll come back to, is increasing NSF, National Science Foundation funding. The National Science Foundation has 15 focus areas. Chemicals and materials is perhaps the 

closest to mining, but it’s still largely absent. And if you look at the 

active grant opportunities from the NSF, just nine out of 815 of 

them are for mining, which is about 1.1 percent. 

The third mechanism under there is actually expanding the infrastructure Investment Jobs Act. Right now, there’s provisions to 

expand energy jobs, but expanding energy advisory work to mining, 

to open up those jobs actually lets us ensure that we have the feed 

stock needed to produce a very renewable energy technology that 

we set out to build. 
10 

The second bucket is saying collaboration between mining companies and universities, there’s a lot of scope. We have a lot of expertise in the private sector, but opening up scholarships, which we 

can come back to as being a best practice elsewhere. 

Anglo American, for example, has funded a significant amount of 

the mining expertise built in South Africa over the years by putting 

in the bursaries and the graduates go back and work for them 

afterwards. There are mechanisms that are budget neutral in that 

way that we can support. 

Finally, we need to leverage our U.S. military academies. If we 

go back and look, many of our academy trained engineers built the 

railroads and bridges for westward expansion, and they were instrumental in the industrial revolution. It’s really time we have a 

national security challenge on our hand to leverage those institutions. 

There are only two American CEOs of mining majors. One is 

Richard Adkerson at Freeport-McMoRan. The other is Bob Wilt at 

Ma’aden. And Bob was an Alcoa executive for many years. And 

then is now, after doing his career with the Army, he’s now leading 

one of the fastest growing mining companies in the world built on 

that expertise. 

At CSIS we’re now planning our first National Security and Critical Mineral summit to help fill that gap. So, I think it’s a multidimensional challenge. I think we have the solutions at hand as 

the United States, and I look forward to discussing more how we 

can do that. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Baskaran follows.] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF GRACELIN BASKARAN

Chairman Hickenlooper, Ranking Member Braun, and distinguished Members of 

the Subcommittee, I am honored to share my views with you on this important 

topic. CSIS does not take policy positions, so the views represented in this testimony 

are my own and not those of my employer. In my testimony, I would like to reflect 

on how the workforce became a key impediment to reducing our reliance on China 

for key minerals required for national, economic and energy security. I will then 

look at potential solutions: how the United States can make existing tools, such as 

the Fulbright program, National Science Foundation, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, better fit for supporting our minerals security needs, how we 

can support partnerships between mining companies and universities to attract 

young talent, and how we can leverage our military academies to help meet our 

workforce needs. 

My name is Dr. Gracelin Baskaran. I am the Director of the Project on Critical 

Minerals Security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). I 

started in the mining industry 11 years ago, when the U.S. State Department 

awarded me a Fulbright Fellowship. Through my Fulbright, I spent a year in South 

Africa’s platinum belt, including time in the mines, and saw the long-term value of 

the sector—both economically and technologically. I went on to do a Ph.D., at the 

University of Cambridge on the platinum sector and later co-authored a book on 

leveraging mining, oil and gas for economic transformation amidst decarbonization. 

My career, which has taken me from the depths of mines in South Africa, such as 

Twickenham and Mogalakwena, to the halls of Washington DC, began with the Fulbright. 

At CSIS, I now work to increase our economic and national security by reducing 

vulnerability in our supply chains for critical minerals. My work informs the White 

House National Security Council, State Department, Department of Energy, Development Finance Corporation, U.S. Embassies globally, and bipartisan and bicameral 

Members of Congress. My work also takes me to resource-rich jurisdictions around 

the world, where I work with industry players from 8 of the biggest Western mining 

companies by market capitalization, government officials from the United States, 
11 

1 U.S. Department of the Interior. Recommendations to Improve Mining on Public Lands. 

September 2023. 2 Baskaran, G. What China’s Ban on Rare Earths Processing Technology Exports Means. Center for Strategic and International Studies. January 8, 2024. 3 Stanford University. Assessing the U.S.-China Competition for Minerals Crucial to the Development of Emerging Technologies. October 1, 2023. 4 National Mining Association. U.S. Reaches Highest Recorded Mineral Import Reliance. January 31, 2023. 5 This includes 14 lanthanides, which are part of the rare earth elements group. 6 Department of the Interior. Recommendations to Improve Mining on Public Lands. September 2023. 7 U.S. Department of Commerce. A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies 

of Critical Minerals. 

Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and members of civil society to understand 

how we can effectively build minerals security. This has given me perspectives that 

reflect the realities on the ground both domestically and internationally. 

Background 

Minerals are important for national, economic and energy security. Their strategic 

value to the United States motivated an active minerals policy in the 20th century. 

In 1910, the United States Department of Interior created the United States Bureau 

of Mines with the goal of overseeing domestic mining activities and securing a sufficient mineral supply. The Bureau supported scientific studies and knowledge sharing about mineral resource extraction, processing, utilization, and health and safety 

standards. In 1996, Congress voted to close the Bureau and decentralize some of its 

responsibilities amongst several other departments. A Department of Interior report 

published in 2023 noted that, ‘‘At the end of the 20th century, the United States 

lost its position as the global leader in mining, both in terms of total production and 

the development of cutting-edge mining technology.’’ 1

Over the last three decades, China has become a dominant player in the supply 

chains of minerals key to national and energy security. Even if it is a marginal producer directly, China finances and imports from the rest of the world to control 65 

percent to 90 percent of global supply of key metals. 2 This concentration is the result of decades of industrial strategy and foreign policy from Beijing. It is also a 

strategic challenge for the United States, given the importance of strengthening national security and meeting energy needs while geopolitical tensions between the 

two countries rise. China has developed a robust workforce that has allowed it to 

develop an absolute advantage in these supply chains. 

Rare earth elements, nickel, lithium, germanium and gallium are critical inputs 

for defense systems, including precision guided munitions, strategic nuclear applications and several missile classes, lasers that serve as range fingers and target designators, military information communication technology, modern naval missiles, 

weapon systems, tanks, and radar modules. They are the backbone of national security. Copper, lithium, nickel, manganese, cobalt, graphite, zinc, and rare earth elements are necessary for meeting our global decarbonization goals by manufacturing 

and deploying offshore and onshore wind, stationary and electric vehicle batteries, 

solar photovoltaics (PV), nuclear power and natural gas. 

The United States, and much of the globe, is most reliant on China for its critical 

minerals supply. 3 Of the 50 minerals included in the 2022 Final List of Critical 

Minerals produced by the USGS, the United States had larger than a 50 percent 

reliance on imports for 31 4, 5 and was wholly import reliant for 12. The United 

States is wholly reliant on China for 9 of them. 6 China has already demonstrated 

a willingness to use export controls or quotas on critical minerals as a geopolitical 

tool. 

The United States needs a strategy for reducing dependency and strengthening 

mineral supply. The last two administrations have set out to improve supply 

through better exploration, production, recycling, and reprocessing of critical minerals. In 2017, President Donald Trump issued Executive order 13817, to facilitate 

better management of critical minerals to strengthen energy security and executive 

prosperity. An output of this was an inter-agency report from the Secretaries of 

Commerce, Defense, Interior and Energy and the U.S. Trade Representative on critical minerals. One of the six calls to action in the report was to, ‘‘Enhance International Trade and Cooperation Related to Critical Minerals: [Identify] options for 

accessing and developing critical minerals through investment and trade with America’s allies, discusses areas for international collaboration and cooperation.’’ 7 In 
12 

8 Barna, S., Hastings, A. and Pearce, M. 2023 NDAA Provides New Opportunities for Industry. National Defense Magazine. February 7, 2023. 9 Broberg, D. and Jacobs, J. Expanding Domestic Critical Mineral Supply Chains. Bipartisan 

Policy Center. March 15, 2023. 10 Has mining lost its luster? Why talent is moving elsewhere and how to bring them back. 

February 14, 2023. 11 Hale, T. The United States Needs More than Mining Engineers to Solve Its Critical Mineral Challenges. May 8, 2023. 

2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14017 which ordered a review of vulnerability in the U.S. critical mineral and material supply chain. Subsequently, a 

supply chain assessment was released by the Administration that found over-reliance on foreign sources and adversarial nations for critical minerals and materials 

posed national and economic security threats. The White House published its ‘‘Plan 

to Revitalize American Manufacturing and Secure Critical Supply Chains’’ in 2022, 

where it announced plans to increase domestic processing capacity of rare earth 

minerals, copper, nickel, lithium, and cobalt. 

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has a stockpile of 47 commodities worth more 

than $1.5 billion. The stockpile was first established after World War 1. In February 

2022, Congress authorized $1 billion for the National Defense Stockpile to acquire 

strategic and critical materials to increase its buffer in the event of crises and disruptions in supply chains. 8

Over the last few years, Congress also passed the Infrastructure Investment and 

Jobs Act (IIJA), the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), 

which authorized and provided over $8.5 billion in funding for critical minerals activities. 9 Specifically, the IRA seeks to prioritize domestic production of minerals. 

The Clean Vehicle Tax Credit and the Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax 

Credit of 2022 extend tax credits only to vehicles that meet threshold requirements 

for critical materials sourced domestically and from countries with which the United 

States has a free trade agreement. These tax credits and spending programs are uncoordinated and mostly focused on domestic mining and processing. 

However, the domestic-only approach to critical minerals cannot work. Geologically, a significant share of the minerals we need are not located in the United 

States or economically recoverable here. The United States has less than 1 percent 

of the world’s nickel, cobalt, and graphite, 1.3 percent of the world’s rare earths, and 

1.5 percent of the world’s manganese, which is a non-substitutable metal required 

for all steel production. 

The United States ability to build both its domestic and international capacity in 

mining will require a skilled workforce, which we have a significant deficit for. A 

recent McKinsey survey revealed that 71 percent of mining leaders stated that 

human capital shortages are preventing them from reaching their production targets and strategic goals. 10 We need mining engineers, geologists and geoscientists, 

metallurgists, geophysicists, economists, and senior management that we can deploy 

domestically and internationally. An analysis from CSIS notes: 

‘‘More than half the current domestic mining workforce will need to be retired and replaced by 2029 (roughly 221,000 workers). This number stands 

in stark contrast to the total of just 327 degrees awarded in 2020 in mining 

and mineral engineering and a 39 percent net drop in graduations in the 

United States since 2016. University programs tasked with creating this 

workforce have also been decreasing, with the number of mining and mineral engineering programs in the United States dropping from 25 in 1982 

to 15 in 2023. This is in stark contrast to China, which has over 38 mineral 

processing schools and upwards of 44 mining engineering programs. Central South University, China’s largest mineral processing program, has 

1,000 undergraduates and 500 graduate students alone ready to accomplish 

China’s mineral ambitions.’’ 11

As the graph below shows, without this, we will not be able to meet future minerals demand, which will grow significantly over the next 30 years, largely driven 

by clean energy technology. In 2020, the world needed approximately 8 million metric tons of minerals for the deployment of clean energy technologies—electric vehicles, electricity networks, solar and wind technology, battery storage, low-carbon 

power generation and hydrogen. In 2030—just 6 years from now—we will need 

roughly 50 million metric tons—over a sixfold increase. In 2040, this increases to 

about 105 million metric tons—a thirteenfold increase from 2020. And by 2050, we 

will need about 150 million tons—nearly a 19 fold increase. Training a workforce 
13 

12 U.S. Department of the Interior. Recommendations to Improve Mining on Public Lands. 

September 2023. 13 QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024: Mineral & Mining Engineering. https:// 

www.topuniversities.com/university-subject-rankings/mineral-mining-engineering. 

to meet future demand is imperative and it requires efforts that begin as soon as 

possible. 

Addressing the Workforce Shortage 

Repurposing Existing Instruments to Build the Mining Workforce 

The Department of Interior report published in 2023 noted that, ‘‘A lack of educational programs for building expertise in mining and mining oversight and a lack 

of interest in mining among the cohort of students who will become the managers 

of tomorrow compound a shortage of properly trained workers.’’ 12

My dad is the Chair of the Geology Department at Wayne State University in Detroit. As I’ve built my own career in the mining industry, we have discussed how 

geology, environmental science and engineering graduates in the United States are 

not moving to the mining sector. The United States needs to support embedding 

mining workstreams into geology and engineering programs. The need to build a 

mining workforce is a more recent priority—so few programs have historical depth 

here. Catching up in this area will require a significant increase in capacity building 

and financing. This is for two reasons. First, academic programs largely succeed or 

fail based on available funding—particularly for research and scholarships. Second, 

there is often a lack of expertise to build these programs. This will require bringing 

in both skilled industry experts and faculty from mining programs around the world 

to cross-pollinate knowledge and build these programs—in particular Australia and 

Canada have deep academic expertise in the mining sector. The 2024 QS World University Rankings for mineral and mineral engineering show that one out of the top 

12 programs in the world are American—Colorado School of Mines. Of the other 11, 

there are four in Australia and Canada and one in Russia, Chile and Saudi Arabia. 13

A key solution to achieving these two goals is to make existing mechanisms better 

fit for mining workforce development. With that in mind, I can make three suggestions: 

The first is creating a dedicated Fulbright program for mining, minerals processing, and recycling. There are already a number of Fulbright programs—the Fulbright Arctic Initiative, the Fulbright Hays Program for K–14 teachers and administrators, Fulbright United States Scholar program for United States scholars and 

artists, Fulbright European Union Scholar-in-Residence (EUSIR) Program to 

strengthen United States expertise in European Affairs, and Fulbright Specialist 

Program to send U.S. faculty abroad to serve as expert consults and do faculty development, amongst others. A Fulbright program for mining to bring mining experts 

and faculty to the United States and send undergraduate and graduate students to 
14 

14 The full list of focus areas include the arctic and Antarctic to astronomy and chemistry 

and materials, computing, diversity in STEM, earth and environment, education and training, 

engineering, facilities and infrastructure, mathematics, people and society, physics, research 

partnerships and interdisciplinary convergence and transformative research. 15 The full list of the NSF’s 11 technology focus areas is advanced manufacturing, advanced 

materials, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, communications and wireless, 

cyberinfrastructure and advanced computing, cybersecurity, disaster risk and resilience, energy 

technology, quantum information science and technology, semiconductors and microcolonies. 16 H.R. 4346—Chips and Science Act. https://www.Congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/housebill/4346. 17 Energy and Minerals Provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117– 

58). Congressional Research Service. https://crsreports.Congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47034. 18 Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey. https://www.bls.gov/cps/ 

cpsaat18b.htm. 

top mining institutions abroad offers a real opportunity to both establish and expand mining programs in the United States and allow our students, particularly in 

STEM-related mining fields, to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to enter 

the modern minerals workforce. 

The second is increasing targeted funding to the National Science Foundation 

(NSF) for mining-related research and capacity building. The NSF is an independent Federal agency that supports science and engineering in all 50 U.S. states 

and U.S. territories. In 2023, the NSF’s enacted budget was $9.9 billion, and they 

supported over 2,000 organizations in every state and U.S. territory. 

• The NSF has 15 focus areas—ranging from the arctic and Antarctic to 

astronomy and biology. Chemicals and materials are perhaps the closest 

to the mining sector—but it’s still not fit to building mining expertise. 

The objective of this effort is ‘‘breakthroughs in chemistry and materials 

science that enhance nearly every aspect of daily life, from pharmaceuticals to plastics, environmental cleanup to battling pandemics.’’ Mining is notably absent. 14

• The NSF also has 11 technology focus areas—ranging from artificial intelligence to biotechnology and cyberinfrastructure. 15Advanced materials 

are closest to the mining industry and the institution notes that ‘‘NSF invests in the discovery of new materials and processing methods that can 

unlock innovations across a wide range of sectors—such as medicine, agriculture, electronics, manufacturing, energy and national security.’’ Mining is inadequate in this program. 

• Mining remains vastly underfunded by the NSF—just 9 of 815—or 1.1 

percent of active grant opportunities are for minerals. 

The CHIPS Act of 2022 (Section 10359) authorized funds for the NSF to increase 

its work on critical minerals mining and development. 16 It includes provisions for 

institutions of higher education or nonprofits to offer training and research opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students, preparing the next generation of 

mining engineers and researchers. Funding for these programs has not been appropriated and could be included in the appropriations legislation for fiscal year 2025. 

Third, widen the sectoral scope of section 40211 of the IIJA which mandated that 

the Department of Energy create a 21st Century Energy Workforce Advisory Board 

to evaluate the requirements of the domestic energy workforce. The Board has also 

been mandated to develop strategies to provide opportunities for students to qualify 

to work in the energy sector and identify avenues for the Department of Energy to 

work with Federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations to drive. 17 It is crucial for this program to go beyond an energy workforce and examine the needs of 

the mining workforce since the mining sector is essential for the implementation of 

nearly all new energy technologies. Without upstream support, the downstream renewable energy development will be impossible. 

Partnerships Between Mining Companies and Universities 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median age of a worker in the 

United States mining industry is 42, which underscores the need to attract younger 

generations. 18 There needs to be a fundamental rebranding of the mining industry. 

The report published by the United States Department of the Interior—Recommendations to Improve Mining on Public Lands—in 2023 notes that ‘‘The mining 

industry is having difficulty attracting young professionals and building a workforce. 
15 

19 United States Department of the Interior. Recommendations to Improve Mining on Public 

Lands. September 2023. 20 National Mining Association. Improving Mine Safety and Health. https://nma.org/category/safety-and-health/. 21 National Mining Association. Annual Mining Wages vs. All Industries, 2023. https:// 

nma.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/annual-mining-wages-state-23-1.pdf. 

One major obstacle appears to be the negative public perception of the industry.’’ 19

There are two key areas for rebranding. 

The first is that the industry is that the industry is tech-based. The modern mining industry is no longer one that uses picks and wheelbarrows—it runs on satellite 

imaging, artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, automation, robotics, and manufacturing 4.0. I’ve been to various mines that are entirely run out of what resembles 

a mission control room—blasting, production, and transportation of minerals. 

Second, significant advances have been made in further improving the environmental and social impacts of mining. Responsible mining is a core focus area for 

nearly all Western companies. The mining industry has a goal of zero fatalities and 

zero injuries, amongst a range of other Environmental, Social and Governance targets. In the United States, injuries in mines have been reduced by 58 percent over 

the last 15 years while fatalities have decreased by 55 percent during that same 

time window. 20 Globally, institutions like the International Council of Minerals and 

Metals (ICMM), a key industry association for responsible mining, have worked with 

their members to improve human rights, health and safety, environmental performance, conservation of biodiversity, and social performance. Earlier this year, the 

ICMM, Mining Association of Canada, World Gold Council and Copper Mark 

launched a process to create a consolidated global standard for responsible mining. 

This means that mining is more technology-based and responsible than ever before. From a financial perspective, there is incentive for young people to go into mining. The average annual salary for a miner in 2023 was $94,848—which is well 

above the United States average wage of $72,609. This means that the average 

worker in the mining industry makes 31 percent more than the national average. 21

Furthermore, as the shortage of workforce grows, supply and demand dynamics 

should drive wages up further. 

It is in the interest of mining companies to build their workforce, particularly 

with young people. Establishing a Federal program to coordinate collaboration between mining companies and universities to strengthen the development of the mining workforce, particularly in STEM fields, enhance research and promote innovation in the industry. 

Mining companies can provide curriculum support to reflect the latest industry 

trends and technological advancements and experts working in the mining sector 

can deliver guest lectures and conduct workshops to give students field experience 

and share practical knowledge. Mining firms can also provide internships and coop programs so students can get paid hands-on experience ahead of graduation, for 

an easier and more experienced transition to the workforce. 

Another key avenue of support for the mining sector is by providing scholarships 

to students. This has long been used in other mining jurisdictions. For example, in 

South Africa, where I worked for 7 years, companies like Anglo American have financed many students over the years on the condition that they come back and 

work for the company after graduation. This is particularly useful to encourage 

socioeconomically disadvantaged students—who are often underrepresented in the 

industry—to enter the field, thereby supporting diversity efforts. 

Leveraging U.S. Military Academies to Build Tomorrow’s Leaders 

The primary purpose of U.S. military institutions including the United States 

Military Academy, United States Naval Academy, United States Air Force Academy, 

and United States Coast Guard, amongst other institutions is to build future military leaders. Academy-trained engineers built the railroads and bridges for westwards expansion and were instrumental in the Industrial Revolution. It’s time to 

enable them to answer the call for another national security challenge. 

I was privileged to speak at West Point on critical minerals in February 2024. 

Lieutenant General Jonathan Braga—who is serving as the commanding general of 

the United States Army Special Operations Command—provided the keynote for the 

event. The interest from cadets afterward was clear. They are our future leaders— 

they will go on to be political leaders, cabinet members, Ambassadors, and even 

mining executives that can advance United States mineral interests. 
16 

Mining executives have a key role to play in advancing strategic mining objectives, including talent development and pursuing national security goals. They require an understanding of engineering, diplomacy and strategy. There is a clear 

need to develop a workforce that is capable of leading mining companies. There are 

only two American CEOs of large market cap mining companies that I’m aware of— 

Richard Adkerson at Freeport McMoRan and Bob Wilt, an American West Point 

graduate and Army veteran from the Gulf War. After a long career at Alcoa, an 

American company, Bob is now the CEO at Ma’aden, one of the fastest growing mining companies in the world. The experience he gained in engineering, diplomacy and 

strategy at both West Point and his subsequent military career has been valuable. 

Scaling up the number of American mining executives is critical if we are to build 

U.S. leadership in the mining sector—and our military academies are an excellent 

place to do this. 

At CSIS, we are planning the first national security and critical minerals summit, 

which will be held in October. Our speakers will include many West Point alumni— 

former U.S. cabinet members, Ambassadors and a mining executive. Our goals are 

two-fold. The first is to give cadets much needed exposure to the importance of critical minerals and what careers in the mining industry look like. The second is to 

give faculty more exposure to critical minerals issues, which the United States has 

disregarded for the last 30 years. Upscaling support to initiatives like this is key. 

Conclusion 

The future of meeting American minerals security needs will require both domestic and international mining given the distribution of resources. In my conversations 

with industry, workforce shortages are universally cited as limitation. The United 

States may have closed its Bureau of Mines in 1996—but investing in workforce development must be a priority to reduce our reliance on China. Without an adequate 

supply of mining engineers, geologists and geoscientists, metallurgists, geophysicists, economists, and senior management that we can deploy domestically and 

internationally, China will continue to have the upper hand, leaving our national, 

economic and energy security highly vulnerable to disruption. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Great. Thank you for Dr. Baskaran. 

Next, we’ll have Mr. Jon Evans. Mr. Evans is the president, CEO 

of Lithium Americas, which is building a lithium mine and chemical facility in northern Nevada. John’s been with the company 

since 2017, but he has over 20 years’ experience in operating and 

managing various businesses, including running FMC corporations, 

lithium division, Mr. Evans. 

STATEMENT OF JON EVANS, PRESIDENT, AND CEO, LITHIUM 

AMERICAS, RENO, AND WINNEMUCCA, NV 

Mr. EVANS. Thank you, Senator, Chairman Hickenlooper, Ranking Member Braun, and Members of the Subcommittee. My name 

is Jon Evans and I am the president, CEO of Lithium America’s 

Corporation. Greatly appreciate your focus on workforce development for critical minerals development. Finding the skilled workforce in my project and industry needs to thrive is a significant 

challenge, and I commend you for working to address this important issue. 

Lithium Americas is building a major lithium mine and processing facility in northern Nevada called the Thacker Pass Project. 

We’ve been working on Thacker Pass for more than a decade and 

are pleased to be fully permitted and funded to move forward with 

this essential project. 

Once in operation in 2027, we’ll produce enough refined lithium 

carbonate for approximately 800,000 electric vehicle batteries per 

year. That’s a market improvement on the U.S.’s ability to provide 
17 

materials we need. To start the projects offtake will be sold exclusively to General Motors. This will profoundly assist GM with their 

transition to electric vehicles. 

Workforce development is a challenge that we’re trying to meet 

head on. Lithium Americas will utilize as many as 2000 skilled 

workers to build Thacker Pass. To ensure we get the workers we 

need in a remote area of Nevada, we’ve entered into a Project 

Labor Agreement with a North American Building Trades Union. 

NABTU knows how to recruit and train local and regional professionals to build large scale projects like ours and to get the job 

done right. 

Once completed, Lithium Americas will employ roughly 350 fulltime professionals at our Thacker Pass facility. These jobs will operate sophisticated processing and chemical manufacturing plants 

and the workers we need are not readily available. I’ll add that the 

average wage with benefits is $100,000 a year. 

To meet this need, we have embarked on aggressive efforts working with the University of Nevada, Great Basin College in Nevada, 

the State of Nevada, and others to implement the training we need 

so our future workforce is ready to go once Thacker Pass is complete in 2027. 

Lithium Americas is committed to doing this project right. This 

includes sound environmental stewardship, ensuring the benefits of 

our project accrue to local communities, including the Fort 

McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe, and providing family supporting careers in this exciting and emerging battery industry. 

Because of the significance of our project and being an industry 

leader from the start, Lithium Americas has been committed to engaging with local community and Tribal members. This active dialog has allowed Lithium Americas to be transparent about the 

project’s details and its impacts. Lithium Americas has participated 

in numerous open houses, community meetings, one-on-one dialogs; 

provided numerous tours; and emphasized employment opportunities and other ways the project could benefit local and Tribal members. 

Over the past several years, many throughout Humboldt County 

have expressed interest in working onsite and participated in job 

skills training, coordinated, or provided by our company as well. 

Numerous members of the tribe have emphasized that this 

project allows members to stay home or return home because of the 

jobs we will provide. 

Lithium Americas and the Fort McDermitt Tribe have a formal 

Community Benefits Agreement founded on years of active engagement. It focuses on ensuring the tribe can benefit from the job creation at Thacker Pass, by committing to additional job training and 

employment opportunities for tribal members, as well as providing 

infrastructure development and support for cultural education and 

preservation. 

Lithium Americas has agreed to build a $5 million community 

center for the tribe that includes a preschool and daycare so parents will be able to take advantage of the jobs we’ll create while 

knowing their kids are safe and secure. 
18 

Larina Bell, Fort McDermitt’s Tribal Chairwoman commented on 

the announcement of the Department of Energy loan that will help 

finance construction of the project, that ‘‘Thacker Pass will provide 

important economic and employment opportunities for members of 

our Tribe.’’ 

In the nearby town of Orovada, Lithium Americas is committed 

to building a new K–8 public school. A leading motivator for this 

community investment is to ensure prosperity at Thacker Pass benefits many generations of locals starting in elementary school and 

potentially continuing through lifetime quality careers in the area. 

Lithium Americas is committed to meeting the focus of this Subcommittee by growing a skilled workforce to fill family supporting 

careers in jobs that benefit the Nation’s security, bolster the state 

and local economies, and fulfill a rapidly growing demand to electrify our economy. 

Thank you for the opportunity to be with today, and I look forward to your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Evans follows.] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JON EVANS

Chairman Hickenlooper, Ranking Member Braun, and Members of the Subcommittee, my name is Jon Evans, and I’m the President and CEO of Lithium 

Americas Corporation (LAC). I greatly appreciate your focus on workforce development for critical minerals development. Finding the skilled workforce my project 

and industry needs to thrive is a significant challenge, and I commend you for working to address this important issue. 

Lithium Americas is building a major lithium mine and processing facility in 

Northern Nevada called the Thacker Pass Project. We have been working on 

Thacker Pass for more than a decade and are pleased to be fully permitted and 

funded to move forward with this essential project. Once in operation in 2027, we 

will produce enough lithium carbonate for approximately 800,000 electric vehicle 

batteries per year. That’s a marked improvement on the U.S.’s ability to provide the 

materials we need. To start, the project’s offtake will be sold to General Motors. 

This will profoundly assist with their transition to EVs. 

Workforce development is a challenge we’re meeting head-on. Lithium Americas 

will utilize as many as 2,000 skilled workers to build Thacker Pass. To ensure we 

get the workers we need in a remote area of Nevada, we entered into a Project 

Labor Agreement with the North Americas Building Trade Unions. NABTU knows 

how to recruit local and regional professionals to build large-scale projects like ours 

and to get the job done right. 

Once completed, Lithium Americas will employ roughly 350 full-time professionals 

at our Thacker Pass facility. These jobs will operate sophisticated processing and 

chemical manufacturing plants, and the workers we will need are not readily available. To meet this need, we have embarked on aggressive efforts working with the 

University of Nevada, Great Basin College in Nevada, the State of Nevada and more 

to implement the training we need so our future workforce is ready to go once 

Thacker Pass construction is completed in 2027. 

Lithium Americas is committed to doing this project right. That includes sound 

environmental stewardship, ensuring the benefits of our project accrue to local communities including the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe, and providing 

family supporting careers in this exciting and emerging battery industry. 

Because of the significance of our project and being an industry leader from the 

start, Lithium Americas has been committed to engaging with local community and 

Tribal members. This active dialog has allowed Lithium Americas to be transparent 

about the Project’s details and its impacts. Lithium Americas has participated in 

numerous open houses, community meetings, one-on-one dialogs; provided numerous 

tours; and emphasized employment opportunities and other ways the Project could 

benefit local and Tribal members. 

Over the past several years, many throughout Humboldt County have expressed 

interest in working onsite and participated in job skills training coordinated or pro-
19 

vided by LAC. Numerous members of the Tribe have emphasized that this Project 

allows members to stay home or return home because of the good jobs we will provide. 

Lithium Americas and the Fort McDermitt Tribe have a formal Community Benefits Agreement founded on years of active engagement. It focuses on ensuring the 

Tribe can benefit from job creation at Thacker Pass by committing to additional job 

training and employment opportunities for tribal members, as well as providing infrastructure development and support for cultural education and preservation. Lithium Americas has also agreed to build a $5 million community center for the Tribe 

that includes a preschool and daycare so parents are able to take advantage of the 

jobs we’ll create while knowing their kids are safe and secure. 

Larina Bell, Fort McDermitt’s Tribal Chairwoman, commented on the announcement of the Department of Energy loan that will help finance construction of the 

Project that, ‘‘Thacker Pass will provide important economic and employment opportunities for members of our Tribe.’’ 

In the nearby town of Orovada, Lithium Americas has committed to building a 

new K–8 public school. A leading motivator for this community investment is to ensure prosperity at Thacker Pass benefits many generations of locals starting in elementary school and potentially continuing through lifetime, quality careers. 

Lithium Americas is committed to meeting the focus of this Subcommittee by 

growing a skilled workforce to fill family supporting careers in jobs that benefit the 

Nation’s security, bolster the state and local economies, and fulfill a rapidly growing 

demand to electrify our economy. 

Thank you for the opportunity to be with you today. I look forward to your questions. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Thank you, Mr. Evans. 

Now, Mr. Zisch. Mr. Zisch serves as the Head of The Mining Engineering Department at the Colorado School of Mines. He also has 

over 40 years of experience in the mining industry, including international mining, mining plant operation, and numerous corporate 

assignments with various mining companies. 

Mr. ZISCH. 

STATEMENT OF BILL ZISCH, J. STEVEN WHISLER HEAD OF 

MINING ENGINEERING, COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES, 

GOLDEN, CO 

Mr. ZISCH. Chairman Hickenlooper, Ranking Member Braun, and 

distinguished Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the growing importance of our critical 

minerals workforce. 

With over 40 years of experience in the global mining industry, 

I have seen firsthand the sector’s significant contributions to the 

economy, local communities and living standards. Critical minerals 

are essential to produce medicines, semiconductors, defense systems, clean energy and more. 

I have also seen examples of the lasting damage mining can have 

on communities and ecosystems. These conflicting realities complicate perceptions of an industry that is vital to our economy, energy future, and national security. 

I know that when it comes to critical minerals in the modern 

world, the most important critical resource is our people, skilled 

professionals, and stewards of natural resources, trained to solve 

complex engineering and social challenges. For this reason, I returned to mining education and now serve as the head of the Mining Engineering Department at Colorado School of Mines, the 
20 

world’s top ranked mineral and mining engineering school. Our 

interdisciplinary education and research cover the full mineral life 

cycle from exploration to reclamation. 

As a global demand for critical minerals has surged, there is 

growing recognition that these goals will require more minerals 

and more mining. At the same time, it is estimated that half of the 

U.S. mining workforce, about 220,000 people will retire by the end 

of the decade and the talent pipeline is not sufficient to meet demand. 

Declining enrollments are a result of a combination of factors, including limited knowledge or experience with the industry, the 

globalization of mining operations and industry image that associates mining with environmental concerns as well as a perception 

of an unsafe workplace. 

In response, the university is promoting a new vision for the future of mining and responds to the scientific, social, and environmental challenges facing the sector and aligns with the student’s 

passion for environmental stewardship. It also integrates innovation, advanced technologies, and sustainable practices to minimize 

environmental impact, optimize resource utilization, and increase 

productivity. 

We must demonstrate that careers in the minerals industry are 

rewarding and impactful. There are signs of an enrollment rebound 

at Colorado School of Mines. In fall 2023, undergraduate mining 

engineering enrollment increased by 22 percent from the prior year 

with just over 100 students enrolled in the mining engineering program. 

With climate change at the forefront of many students’ concerns, 

we work to inform students of the essential link between mining, 

minerals, responsible resource management, and sustainable energy, which appeals to their sense of purpose and drive to solve the 

world’s most complex problems. 

Today, mines curriculum extends beyond geology and mine operations, and includes classes in waste, water, and tailings management and social and community engagement. Our mining department faculty also includes anthropologists, highlighting the need 

for technical and social awareness to understand projects in an environmental and societal context. 

Mines vision for future of mining also recognizes the transformational role of research and innovation. Advanced technologies, 

robotics, AI drilling innovations, advanced separations, tailings 

management, recycling, are all essential for an economically viable 

interest industry with a net positive impact for stakeholders. 

At its core, Mines research is rooted in partnerships with industry, national labs, academia, and government. Research is critical 

to address the most pressing mineral challenges and to the development and retention of mining and mineral educators that support and sustain mining engineering programs. Mining schools play 

an important role in growing our Nation’s critical mineral workforce through both education and research. 

Colorado School of Mines is committed to a new vision for mining 

in the future and working with industry, academia, communities, 
21 

1 QS Top Universities. (2024). University subject rankings: Mineral & mining engineering. https://www.topuniversities.com/university-subject-rankings/mineral-mining-engineering. 2 International Energy Agency. (2021). The role of critical minerals in clean energy transitions: Executive summary. https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions/executive-summary. 3 Hodgson, C. (2023, May 1). More than 300 new mines required to meet battery demand by 

2035. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/morethan-300-new-mines-required-to-meet-battery-demand-by-2035. 4 U.S. Geological Survey. (2023). Mineral commodity summaries 2023 (Report No. 2023–3000). 

U.S. Department of the Interior. https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2023/mcs2023.pdf. 

and government, to reestablish our mineral workforce as a critical 

element of the U.S. economic energy and security future. Thank 

you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Zisch follows.] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF BILL ZISCH

Chairman Hickenlooper, Ranking Member Braun and distinguished Members of 

the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the growing importance of our critical minerals workforce. 

With over 40 years of experience in the global mining industry, I have seen firsthand the value the minerals industry brings to the economy, local communities and 

living standards. Critical minerals are the building blocks of medicines, semi-conductors, defense systems, clean energy and more. 

I have also seen examples of the damage mining can have on communities and 

ecosystems in the U.S. and abroad, if not done properly or responsibly. This includes 

lasting environmental damage, unacceptable labor practices and legacy waste sites 

which are difficult to repair or remediate. These competing realities complicate perceptions of a mining industry that is vital to our economy, energy future and national security. 

My experience has taught me that when it comes to minerals and their role in 

our modern world, our most critical resource is our people—skilled professionals 

equipped to responsibly manage our earth’s resources and solve complex engineering 

and social challenges. 

It is for this reason that I returned from semi-retirement to mining education— 

first as a professor of practice. Today, I serve as the Head of the Mining Engineering Department at Colorado School of Mines (Mines), home to the top ranked mineral and mining engineering program in the world. 1 Our world-class faculty support 

interdisciplinary education and research covering all aspects of the mining and mineral life cycle—from exploration, extraction and processing to recycling, mine closure 

and reclamation, as well as water management, community engagement, occupational health and safety, mineral economics and supply chains. Our broad scope of 

study also includes space mining and deep underground mining and construction. 

Mining and Minerals Workforce Challenges 

As global demand for critical minerals has surged, largely in response to energy 

goals, there is a growing recognition that achieving these goals will consume more 

minerals and require more mining. 

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that to meet demand for clean 

energy technologies by 2040, the world will need 42 times as much lithium compared to 2020—25 times more graphite, 21 times more cobalt and 19 times more 

nickel. 2 According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, at least 284 new mines will 

need to be built globally to meet electric vehicle demand by 2035. 3 The challenge 

is compounded both by the scarcity of economically viable deposits and the length 

of time required to characterize, permit and develop a new mine. 

It is well documented that for most critical minerals, the U.S. is heavily reliant 

on foreign sources for its consumption requirements 4—many of which are mined 

and processed in adversarial nations with low or unenforced environmental, labor 

and human rights standards. While the U.S. was once the global leader in mineral 

development, we have ceded that leadership position. Nonetheless, there are important and impactful new mineral developments being advanced throughout the country, including for lithium, copper, manganese, nickel and cobalt. 

At the same time, it is estimated that half of the U.S. Mining workforce, about 

220,000 people, will retire by the end of the decade, and the talent pipeline is not 

sufficient to replace experienced professionals in mining engineering or other related 
22 

5 Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration. (n.d.). Workforce trends in the U.S. mining 

industry. https://www.smenet.org/What-We-Do/Technical-Briefings/Workforce-Trends-in-theU.S.-Mining-Industry. 6 Society of Mining Professors and Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, 2021; data 

collected by Vlad Kecojevic. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. 

Building Capacity for the U.S. Mineral Resources Workforce: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27733. 7 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2024). Building Capacity for 

the U.S. Mineral Resources Workforce: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27733. 

disciplines. 5 The minerals and mining workforce includes a broad range of skilled 

professionals including technicians, engineers and scientists trained in geology, hydrology, metallurgy, chemistry, community engagement and social science, business 

and economics, data science, health and safety, mine closure and reclamation and 

more. 

Today, there are 14 mining engineering programs in the U.S.—down from 25 in 

1982. Last year, these mining schools collectively enrolled 590 undergraduate students, graduating just 162 students for an industry demand of 400–600 new mining 

engineers each year. 6 In comparison, China’s 45 mining engineering programs currently enroll about 12,000 students and graduate approximately 3,000 a year—about 

16 times the number of graduates in the United States. 7

Declining enrollments are the result of a combination of factors, including limited 

knowledge or experience with the industry, the globalization of mining operations, 

an industry image that associates mining with adverse environmental impacts, as 

well as a perception of an unsafe workplace. 

It is imperative that we—industry, academia and society—thoughtfully address 

these concerns and demonstrate that careers in mining engineering are rewarding, 

technology-driven and impactful. Absent a meaningful shift in perceptions, the best 

and brightest students and leaders will pursue opportunities in other competitive 

fields. 

A New Vision for the Future of Mining 

In response to these challenges, Mines is advancing a compelling new vision for 

the future of mining that aligns with students’ passion for environmental stewardship. This vision also integrates advanced technologies and sustainable mining practices to increase productivity, minimize environmental impact, improve safety and 

optimize resource utilization. 

While undergraduate enrollment in Mining Engineering at Mines, like other mining schools, has experienced a decline in enrollment, there are signs of a rebound. 

In Fall of 2023, Mines’ undergraduate Mining Engineering enrollment increased by 

22 percent from the prior year, with just over 100 students enrolled in the Mining 

Engineering program. 

This rebound is attributed, in part, to a focus on first and second-year students 

who are undecided or not yet strongly committed to their major. With climate 

change at the forefront of many of our students’ concerns, informing students of the 

world’s essential critical mineral applications and the need for innovative leadership 

appeals to their inherent sense of purpose and desire to solve the most complex 

challenges. Also, promoting strong stewardship of natural resources to create sustainable development and prosperity for communities, tribes, governments and other 

stakeholders speaks to students’ altruistic desire to positively impact the world. 

Thus, we teach the essential link between mining, minerals, responsible resource 

management, sustainable energy, and community and societal benefits. 

Informed by regular input and support from industry partners, the Mining Engineering curriculum extends far beyond the basic foundations of geology and mine 

operations. Students take classes in waste, water and tailings management and social and community engagement. Our Mining Department faculty also includes an 

anthropologist, highlighting the need for both technical and social awareness to understand projects within the context of the environment, communities and society. 

Furthermore, our industry partners consistently share that today’s mining operations require talent from various disciplines, including expertise in mechanical, 

electrical, civil, environmental, chemical, petroleum, and humanitarian engineering—and need to extend to economics, computer science, data science, risk management, statistics and math. We believe promoting a Minor in Mining Engineering to 

students in these disciplines can also help draw non-mining engineers to the sector. 
23 

8 Colorado School of Mines. (n.d.). Mines Academy. https://www.mines.edu/undergraduateadmissions/mines-academy/. 

As a result, Mines graduates are highly sought after by industry, academia and 

government, serving in roles that range from mine planning, extraction and processing, mine remediation and reclamation, community engagement, business and finance, public policy and regulatory compliance. 

Mines is also strengthening diverse pathways into engineering careers by actively 

working with Colorado’s community colleges to expand opportunity and access to all 

Mines engineering degrees, including Mining Engineering. Mines Academy is a program that puts community college students on a direct pathway to a bachelor’s degree from Mines after completing a 2-year Associate of Engineering Science degree 

at a participating community college, which includes minority-serving institutions. 8

Beyond aligning students’ interests with the world’s need for critical minerals, 

Mines also engages in more traditional outreach programs such as career information workshops, highlighting opportunities that include readily available scholarships and internships and near 100 percent graduate job placements in well compensated positions that offer unique lifestyle opportunities. 

Mining and Minerals Innovation 

Mines’ vision for the future of mining also recognizes the transformational role 

that research and innovation can and must have on the future of mining. Research—and strong research funding—is critical to inspire the most talented minds 

to tackle the most pressing mining-related challenges. It is also necessary to recruit 

and retain the next generation of mining and mineral faculty and educators that 

support and sustain mining engineering programs. 

The mining industry faces significant changes due to evolving social and environmental conditions, technological advancements, development costs, market fluctuations and the need for sustainable mining practices. For example, future mines will 

likely need to be self-sufficient in power and water to avoid competing with local 

communities, relying on renewable energy systems to support decarbonization efforts. 

Advanced technologies and techniques—robotics and artificial Intelligence (AI), 

drilling innovations, brines extraction, advanced separations, coproduction processes, digital subsurface applications, tailings management, recycling and more— 

will be critical to create an economically viable industry that generates net positive 

impact for stakeholders. 

Specific advances expected to evolve from applied technological innovation include 

mine design algorithms that will incorporate social license considerations. Advanced 

analytics, machine learning and AI will enhance operations by reducing costs and 

improving dispatch systems, ore sorting, recycling, ore control, maintenance and 

downtime. Safety advancements will focus on operator fatigue, collision avoidance 

and vehicle intervention systems. Autonomous equipment like trucks, drills, loaders 

and dozers will improve safety and efficiency, while drones and robots will handle 

tasks traditionally performed by humans. 

The research community, including the Colorado School of Mines, is actively engaged in applied research of semiconductors, clean energy, and advanced technologies—all of which require critical materials. These strategic investments, supported by the CHIPS and Science Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the 

Inflation Reduction Act, have focused on downstream processing and battery manufacturing, but have not included investments in next generation mining innovation 

and research and development. 

Since the dissolution of the Bureau of Mines in 1996, largely for budget reduction 

purposes, there has been no Federal program dedicated to improving mining technology and processes for sourcing critical minerals more efficiently and responsibly 

at home or abroad. Investments in research not only address the mining industry’s 

most pressing economic, environmental and sustainability challenges, they also support a strong academic community, which is essential for developing a skilled workforce. 

Research Centers and Partnerships 

Central to Mines’ vision for the future of mining is partnerships with industry, 

national labs, academia, government and communities, and a commitment to listen, 

innovate and co-create advanced mining technologies and processes. 
24 

9 U.S. Geological Survey. ‘‘Energy and Minerals Research.’’ U.S. Department of the Interior, 

https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/bipartisan-infrastructure-law-investments/science/energyand-minerals-research. Accessed 7 June 2024. 

More broadly, mining innovation is intended to support community engagement 

and regulatory acceptance, develop a skilled workforce and inform mining and mineral policies that ensure a responsible, sustainable, and economically viable domestic mining industry. 

Mines serves as the academic lead of the Department of Energy’s Critical Material Innovation Hub (CMI), which carries out scientific and engineering research to 

facilitate more diverse primary supply chains, more efficient manufacturing, reuse 

and recycling, as well as the development of new materials. In addition, the Center 

for Resource, Recovery and Recycling (CR3), affiliated with Mines’ Kroll Institute for 

Extractive Metallurgy both have direct application in the recovery of critical minerals through primary processing or secondary and recycling processes. Mines’ 

Tailings Center is an industry-university consortium focused on applied and basic 

research in tailings and mine waste management, as is the NSF-supported Center 

for Advanced Science and Exploration to Remediation of Mining (CASERM), a partnership with our colleagues at Virginia Tech. 

Additionally, with the support of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is constructing the new USGS-Mines Energy and Minerals 

Research Facility on the Mines campus. The new facility will house the USGS Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry Science Center, and Central Energy Resources 

Science Center. 9 More importantly the partnership will strengthen collaboration between USGS scientists and Mines faculty and students to advance research on topics including critical mineral origins, supply chains and markets, as well as educate 

the next-generation workforce that will support the critical materials sector. 

Conclusion 

The future of mining vision begins with the workforce—and will require active engagement from industry, academia, communities, and government. This effort will 

take time, resources, and most importantly a coordinated strategy. In that regard, 

Mines supports legislative efforts, like the bipartisan Mining Schools Act (S. 912), 

which would establish a grant program for mining schools to recruit students and 

support programs in relevant mining and mineral fields. 

A strong minerals workforce will also require a new social relationship with the 

earth’s resources, supported by industry, academia (P–20), and government—a relationship that draws direct connections between the mineral workforce and the economy, energy future, environmental protection and national security. 

Mining schools play a crucial role in growing our Nation’s critical mineral capabilities through both education and research. The opportunity before us is to engage 

and inspire the next generation of mining and mineral leaders with a passion for 

impactful careers in an industry innovating to support a sustainable environment. 

Colorado School of Mines is committed to this vision and working with all stakeholders to reestablish our mineral workforce as a critical element of our economic, 

energy and security future. 

Thank you. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Thank you so much. Thanks to each of 

you for being here. It really is much appreciated. I’ll ask some 

questions then I’ll turn it over to Senator Braun and ask questions. 

Then I’ll probably ask more questions because I’m just naturally 

being a geologist, naturally curious. 

Let me start with Mr. Evans, let’s lay a foundation for today’s 

discussion. This is a big deal, right? Making sure we have the 

workforce we need is of crucial importance and making sure that 

we don’t have an ongoing reliance on foreign adversaries. What 

types of jobs that your company needs now, let’s say needs now or 

will need in the future. How do salaries in these jobs compare with 

other jobs that you’re competing with in the State of Nevada? 
25 

Mr. EVANS. Thank you, Senator. Our company requires skilled 

trades to operate the plant. So, welders, electricians, instrumentation technicians from an hourly standpoint. From a professional 

standpoint, it’s a myriad. We have everything from metallurgists, 

chemical engineers, mechanical engineers, mining engineers, so 

highly technical jobs that come out of the STEM field. 

The salaries that we offer in this field are quite competitive. 

They have to be, we’re competing against other industries that are 

attracting STEM talent away. So, we have to pay well above average to get folks. I guess the converse to that is that we’ve had a 

lot of success being able to attract people, and I think you’ve heard 

it across sort of the theme here. We need to rebrand. 

I’m one of the oldest folks in the company and at 55, if you come 

to our laboratory and technical center in Reno, Nevada, or even out 

to Winnemucca, you’re going to see some gray-haired folks there, 

which is great, because they have the experience to help train the 

younger folks. 

But by and large, our workforce is quite youthful and quite 

young. And they want to come into this field, they don’t view it as 

mining necessarily or minerals extraction, but they see it as a burgeoning career area around the economies changing into a more 

green economy or green energy. 

I think you and I spoke in the past. My daughter’s a great example of that. She turned a job down with Goldman Sachs. She works 

at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. 

She wanted to go into a field that’s growing, that’s new and have 

a front row seat to where our economy’s going over the next 20 or 

30 years. 

A lot of our employees that come either as interns or that we’re 

working closely with the University of Nevada or Reno, or even 

more importantly in closer term, Great Basin College, which is in 

Winnemucca, Nevada, are all thinking the same thing. 

Senator Braun, you had mentioned, we actually go and talk to 

kids in high school. We have a constant open house every week, 

members of the public, we have school kids coming in and so forth. 

That’s the same out in Winnemucca, Nevada, where we’re actually outreaching kids in high school, bringing them through a 

Great Basin College. They’ve actually worked to develop programs 

that are specialized around instrumentation, around electricians, 

which are two of the hardest to find. And they’ve already graduated two or three classes and they’re able to do that now in an 

associate’s degree program that’s only a year versus 2 years. 

It’s possible, but it’s tough. And the other thing I’ll add too is 

that, rural economy it’s very difficult too. It’s much easier to get 

folks in Reno, Humboldt County for the East Coast folks is half the 

State of Connecticut has 16,000 people in it. So, it’s very rural and 

typically when kids leave and they go to the State University they 

don’t come back. So, it’s grabbing kids in high school so they don’t 

leave, but it’s also trying to get people to come back to the area as 

well. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Right, engaging them in different ways. 

Taking that thread then, Dr. Arnold, can you talk about partner-
26 

ships that you might have with community colleges or apprenticeships and programs with businesses as well, and what challenges 

do you expect as you try and scale up those programs or see them 

being implemented in other places? 

Dr. ARNOLD. As far as the different programs that we have dispersed away from, we’ll say the flagship at University Park, Penn 

State has commonwealth campuses around the state. And each of 

those has 2-year associate degree programs in things like 

electromechanical engineering and those types of programs. 

While our mining engineering program doesn’t directly link with 

those, those are programs that Penn State has. We need to do a 

better job of actually going out into the community colleges and 

into some of the trade schools to actually address the need for mining programs, the need for folks to actually become better equipped 

to serve in mining positions, just to understand the different environment that they’re going into. 

The second part of your question was interacting with businesses. We have many numbers of folks contacting us in the 

spring, in the summer, to come onto campus in the fall, and to talk 

to our mining students directly. They interview them often the next 

day, they tell them about their company one evening, they interview them for summer internships or full-time positions for the 

next summer. So, by the time the end of the fall semester rolls 

around we have everyone placed. Some of them will actually 

change their mind. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. ZISCH. Well, we all know kids. 

Dr. ARNOLD. They do that, but so the jobs are there. But we need 

more students to fill them. Got it. But on the critical mineral—— 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Let me switch over to Mr. Zisch, we’ll 

come back around. Over to you Mr. Zisch. 

Dr. ARNOLD. Absolutely. 

Mr. ZISCH. Thank you, Senator. The Colorado School Mines also 

has programs where we have relationships with particularly three 

community colleges, which provide opportunities for students to 

have then an entrance into School of Mines. 

Those are working relationships that we have, provides an opportunity for students to get their kind of feet on the ground. It’s a 

lower cost option for them as well. 

The other thing that we use a lot of those programs for, is for 

targeting underrepresented students coming into mines. It’s a great 

avenue for us to reach out to them and have them come through, 

what is a non-traditional approach sometimes, that’s been very effective on our underrepresented opportunities. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Great, thank you. I’m going to step 

back, but I’m not through. Gracelin, I will be back to each of you 

actually. So, I’m going to turn it over to my co-chair, Senator 

Braun. 

Senator BRAUN. It’s because you’re a geologist, right? You, you’ve 

got several rounds, so. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Exactly. 
27 

Senator BRAUN. I’m an entrepreneur, business owner, and workforce has been a challenge in all areas, I mentioned that earlier. 

Depressing when you hear, did you say 12,000 was the number 

from China? 

Dr Arnold. Yes, students enrolled. 

Senator BRAUN. We were like, how many was that again? 

Dr Arnold. 162. 

Senator BRAUN. I mean, that is unbelievable. And then I think 

someone else mentioned, it might have been you, Dr. Baskaran, 

about the stigma associated with sadly farming was in there too. 

And that’s the hardest small business that God ever created. And 

of course, that has gotten more intensive with capital and equipment and less labor intensive. That’s the only way we keep up 

there. 

Then I think back, because I always like to get to the root of a 

problem. When coal was our primary mineral that we were mining 

and using to generate electricity, I don’t seem to remember issues 

getting people into the field. Our neighboring county was the highest income county per capita in our State of Indiana, which is the 

biggest manufacturing state per capita now. And that’s almost all 

gone. So, how much of the skills you need for mining in general, 

would’ve been because we had a vibrant coal industry back many 

years ago? 

Does that have anything to do with why we don’t have as many 

kids interested in it? Because they seem to be interested then because they were good paying jobs. Whoever feels comfortable answering that, I’d like to get your opinion. 

Dr. BASKARAN. I’m happy to go for it. I think globally we see a 

phenomenon where young people, urbanization. I mean, there’s just 

been a changing phenomenon where people are moving to cities. 

So, there was once a time, I think at the height of the coal boom 

in the United States, but mining more broadly, where you kind of 

use place-based, right? You stay where you grew up and where 

there was that mining industry, you stayed there. 

But now we’re just seeing a global trend where people are moving to cities. There are more attractive fields that have emerged in 

the last few decades in tech, remote work, all of these things. And 

these are really kind of shifting. 

To the second part now, that’s different then, is mining now requires a lot more STEM skills than it used to. Because we used to 

use a rock blaster, like a person would go place the blast and blast 

it. Now it’s done by an engineer in a different space. So, the type 

of skills that’s attracting is different, and that’s also going to require more emphasis on STEM than it did before. 

Senator BRAUN. It wasn’t our policy that initiated the fact that 

we’ve pretty well said we don’t want to use coal anymore? And I 

look at China where they’re building all the green energy stuff and 

they’re fueling it with fire or coal fired plants, building you hear, 

one a week, in terms of electric generation fueled by coal, India as 

well. 

How much of that, and now that our policy has changed and you 

need the skills that are critical that you used to get, wasn’t coal 
28 

mining a large percentage of our total mining that we used to do 

in the U.S.? It seems like it had to be. Anybody want to comment 

on that? 

Dr. ARNOLD. Sure. I can take that question. Overall, we mine a 

lot of material and actually iron ore is the biggest metallic mineral 

that we mine, but we actually mine more aggregates than anything 

else. There’s this one—— 

Senator BRAUN. Are they hurting for workforce too? 

Dr. ARNOLD. Oh, everybody is. 

Senator BRAUN. Something has occurred to where anything that 

you’re extracting out of the ground, we just have been lagging on 

it. So, it’s kind of across the board. 

Dr. ARNOLD. It’s across the board. It absolutely is. 

Senator BRAUN. Then that sounds like it’s mostly going back to 

how we’ve maybe stigmatized, the reason farming it’s easy to explain. It’s gotten to where you’ve been able to substitute capital 

and equipment for labor, and we produce more here. Here, we’ve 

not been able to do that, and then it may get to be the nature of 

the job. 

I’m guessing that issue’s not the same in other countries. So, 

looks like until we get to the bottom of that we’re going to have 

a lot of trouble regardless of what we’re trying to extract. 

Mr. EVANS. It’s very hard to open mines in the U.S., Senator. 

The ones that we had have declined. Opening a new one takes a 

long time. It’s hard to finance, and then the workforce is aged and 

you’re left with a lot less people than you had before. 

Senator BRAUN. Then one final question before I give it back. 

How much has government policy been a factor in making it more 

or less difficult? 

Mr. EVANS. Sir. I’ll answer that. 

Senator BRAUN. You are here with the government, so. 

Mr. EVANS. I think that the permitting process and the NEPA 

process is very rigorous and it needs to be. We are going through 

the process ourselves. The one area that I would look at for permit 

reform is judicial. In terms of the length of the amount of appeals, 

it took us four and a half years from start to finish to go through 

the whole process, and that’s supposedly short. 

We’re both business folks, it’s hard to get people to lend you 

money or give you money when they don’t know when they’re going 

to get a return on their investment. There are other mines in this 

country that have been locked in litigation for 15 or 20 years. Because new cases are brought after other ones are dismissed. 

I think that’s a key portion of at least the government portion 

around permitting reform, which it’s more than just mines, as we 

know, it could be transmission lines; it could be everything. It’s 

something we need to address for infrastructure in general in this 

country. 

Senator BRAUN. Thank you. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Senator Casey, the Senior Senator from 

Pennsylvania. 
29 

Senator CASEY. Mr. Chairman, thanks very much. I want to 

thank both you and Senator Braun for this opportunity to examine 

these issues. I’m going to thank each of our witnesses for being 

here. This is a busy hearing day, so everyone’s in and out and moving around. So, I’m sorry I missed your presentations. 

Dr. Arnold, I wanted to direct my main question to you. I don’t 

think I have to explain to you or many in Pennsylvania what life 

was like a while back when we had a lot of communities that were 

suffering from the ravages of coal mining. When I grew up in 

Scranton and still live there, the Lackawanna River was not what 

it is today. We were told to avoid it, don’t go near it, it’s dirty. 

Sometimes would turn some form of orange and now it’s a place 

where people come from far and wide to fish there. So, it’s been 

completely turned around. 

But we know of the devastation of abandoned or the devastation 

resulting in abandoned mine lands and all that came with it. We 

also know that in our state, we have state constitutional provision, 

which article 1, section 27 of the Constitution mandates that the 

people have a right to clean air, pure water, and the preservation 

of the natural scenic, historic, and aesthetic values of the environment. It talks about each of us being trustees of the natural resources of the state. 

Eventually the state took that seriously, starting about a little 

more than 50 years ago, more like 60 years ago now, and started 

to deal with this abandoned mine land problem in cleaning up the 

environment. We’ve got today, more than 40 counties that are of 

our 67 that are somehow impacted by abandoned mine lands. 

It’s been devastating for the environment, the land, the community, the economic development that can occur when that is not 

dealt with. I’ve worked on these issues a good while here and had 

some success and Senator Braun and I work together to pass the 

Stream Act that allows states to use a portion of their abandoned 

mine land money for acid mine drainage cleanup. And that was a 

good moment when we did that because we had to fix a little defect 

in the infrastructure bill. 

Leaders like Penn State and the National Energy Technology 

Lab in Pennsylvania are taking environmental remediation one 

step further. And they’re pioneering ways to extract rare earth elements from acid mine drainage. I even visited Penn State and saw 

a demonstration. 

That’s a long lead up into maybe the broad question, what would 

you hope we could do here by way of new policy? But generally, 

what would you believe is necessary to leverage what is a great energy workforce in our state, to take advantage of this opportunity 

that we have to actually take extract from in those communities, 

those rare earth elements? 

Dr. ARNOLD. Well, Senator, you absolutely hit it on the head with 

what we’re doing as far as recovering rare earth elements and 

other critical minerals from acid mine drainage in the project that 

we’re doing right now. 

To leverage our energy workforce, I think it’s actually going to 

be difficult because our energy workforce is actually aging. They’re 
30 

the 220,000 that are going to retire. And how do we bring new people into the pipeline? And that’s critical. 

We actually hide our mines. We’ve got to the point where you 

drive down the road and you don’t know that there’s a mine behind 

the hill. Now there’re still in eastern Pennsylvania, there are still 

combustors, and we still need to address those, and we are. 

Some of those fluidized bed combustor plants are doing a job of 

recovering that, creating energy at the same time, and then putting 

that material back better. But we need to figure out how to get 

more people into that workforce as well. 

We can do everything we can on the automation side, and we are 

introducing a lot of automation and control, a lot of virtual types 

of technologies. But, how can we actually get younger people to do 

that, to go into those careers? It’s going to be a combination of curriculum for K–12, letting them know that all of these elements that 

we’re trying to go after are critical to high tech jobs. And so that 

message isn’t getting out there. 

I think it’s a curriculum thing. I think it’s also—and not necessarily just to go into mining engineering programs or mineral 

processing programs. It’s to go into manufacturing, it’s to go into 

energy. It’s just at this point it’s difficult to get them to think that 

those jobs are actually environmental jobs. 

Senator CASEY. Well, you’ve given us a lot to think about and to 

strategize about. But thanks very much. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Indeed. Thank you. Dr. Baskaran, it’s 

estimated that the critical minerals workforce will need to double 

if we’re going to meet our energy goals, some people say even higher than that. I think many of our international partners have been 

working for a pretty good while building up their workforce. 

What challenges have other countries faced in recruiting and retaining a skilled, robust workforce that can do what needs to be 

done? And what are some of the best practices you’ve seen at work 

in these other countries to address some of the challenges we’ve all 

been talking about? 

Dr. BASKARAN. Thank you, Senator. I always think about Australia, because it was probably about 15 or 20 years ago that Australia decided that they were going to be a mineral center of excellence. And when you look at Australia’s economy, it’s about 15 percent of GDP is mining because you have your inputs, your machinery, your production, your processing. 

Our DOD DPA Title III grants actually go to Australian companies. But what they also did is they really aimed to build a robust 

workforce. So, if you look at a lot of mining graduates abroad, 

they’re Australian. And I think a lot of that again is that 

prioritization of a long-term strategy that in many ways the U.S. 

has lacked to developing that workforce. 

If I were to think about two things that I think about that we 

need to realize though, with an Australian model of retention is, 

people don’t live at the mines, they fly you in and they fly you out, 

right? And I think that’s a big change over time, is mines are not, 
31 

you and I both know, mines are often not an exciting place, right? 

They’re not the easiest places to attract it. 

Australia’s used other mechanisms, in public health, to get doctors into places where there’s Aboriginal health problems. They 

also have to use similar mechanisms. We need to acknowledge that 

mines are in hard places, and we need to develop a system where 

there’s two things. 

First, outreach is really important. We’ve said a lot here, like, 

young people don’t know mining as a career. It’s not an industry 

that we think about. So, first is going in and doing the outreach. 

Second is financially incentivizing it, not just from—between the 

age of 17 and 22, your brain looks vastly different. When you’re 22 

you’re thinking about how much money you need to make to pay 

your rent. When you’re 17, you’re not thinking about that. So, it’s 

actually going in and scholarships, bursaries, co-ops, internships, 

paid experience, becomes super valuable. 

Then I think the other thing is like we think a lot when we think 

about banking, like our friends who ended up in investment banking. They finished college and they went and got their signing 

bonus. This information needs to be pulled forward so that we can 

do that. 

Then the last thing I think is cross pollination. So, when I look 

at Australia, when I look at Canada, I looked at the top 12, sorry, 

Penn State was 13, so it’s not in my numbers, apologies. But when 

I looked at the top 12 mining engineering programs, school of mind 

is No. 1. And then we have four Canadian, four Australian, couple 

British, Saudi, right? Is that actually we need to cross pollinate 

knowledge better so that people see globally, like mining is big. 

I mean, I’ve been very fortunate to have an extremely international career. I spent all my twenties abroad, and that was mining, right? But that’s not something I would’ve thought of when I 

was 17 or 18 years old. So, bringing that exposure to the fact that 

mining is not living in Rural West Virginia anymore is really important to changing that narrative. 

I think Australia’s gotten it right. They too are having an aging 

workforce. Canada has an aging workforce. This is a global dilemma. However, what we are seeing is if you put that architecture 

and plumbing into place, it’s a gift that keeps on giving. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. I appreciate that. And I would argue 

that I think many times mines are the most beautiful places. And 

some of Wallace Stegner’s novels, if you’ve ever read Angle of 

Repose or even Crossing to Safety, they get into that a little bit further. 

Each of you in your distinct ways are leading important efforts 

to move this, the critical minerals workforce, forward. Can maybe 

each of you speak briefly about the policies that you think Congress 

should support to help accelerate this development of the workforce? Why don’t we start with you, Mr. Zisch. We’ll go along this 

way. 

Mr. ZISCH. Yes. Thank you, Senator. I think certainly that some 

of the policies that should be out there need to get at and talk to 

this. Actually, Senator Braun, talked about the stigmatism and 
32 

somehow incorporating these mines as part of the solution and part 

of the contribution to solving our energy issues. 

I would think that policies that can help to deal with that stigmatism and the industry perspective would be very helpful. I would 

also think that when, from a standpoint of anything we can do to 

encourage the scholarships, internships, et cetera would be very 

helpful. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Good point. 

Mr. Evans. 

Mr. EVANS. Yes. My focus has been really local. Mining is a very 

local thing. And they are in areas that are very rural. 

Focusing on programs where the Federal Government assists 

with local or state or county governments with community colleges. 

I gave the example of Great Basin College; I was amazed to see 

what they put together on a shoestring. Basically, in some cases 

with donations, with some small grants. But if they had more opportunities and more resources, I think they could do more. 

There’s a number of, when younger kids, they want to leave, they 

don’t come back, but there’s also nothing for them. So, if you can 

show them a path, you can start to identify that in high school not 

only trades training, but also some of the more sophisticated 

whether it be around instrumentation. 

Then to the point which we’ve heard from the larger universities 

as well. These jobs are technical, so the mining done by us is actually done by a coal company. So, that’s another thing that we can 

do here, is that you actually bring in allied industries that—it’s the 

same thing. We’re doing surface mining. We’re using North American coal. It’s 120-year-old company out of Cleveland, Ohio that 

does late night mining and phosphate mining in the U.S. 

But the STEM students, they can go to Apple, they can go to others. We have a very sophisticated operation. I could run our control 

room from Reno, Nevada 200 miles away. Bringing that where 

these industries are growing, they’re developing, I think you need 

both. You need the professional STEM folks, but also it all starts 

local. The folks that are going to live every day around that facility 

grow families there. And actually, hopefully some folks come home. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. 

Dr. Baskaran. 

Dr. BASKARAN. Money makes the world move. And I think appropriations are really important because we have so many existing 

programs and mechanisms in place. But a lot of these were developed before—were not made fit for purpose for mining. Because 

they were not at a point. It was really what, the last 15 years when 

we discovered minerals could be weaponized and we went into a 

panic, I mean, maybe 15 years is generous might be like 7. 

When I think about this, what I had kind of mentioned earlier, 

was like our Fulbright program has expanded so many times, and 

it’s such a good way to get academics, practitioners, and students 

to move and cross pollinate that information. 

National Science Foundation, I grew up in a academic household, 

always heard like programs fail or succeed on the basis of the 
33 

amount of money they have available, to be able to execute good 

teaching, good research, good learning. 

I think the third area I would suggest, again, is appropriations 

to our U.S. military academies for minerals. This is something 

we’re working on at CSIS. These are our future executives, Ambassadors, cabinet leaders, and they have fantastic STEM graduates. 

Making sure that we’re giving exposure, I mean, to all universities, but also to these militaries because they will go on to be 

leaders and giving them the exposure—I spoke at something at 

West Point in February, the amount of interest that peaked that 

now we’re doing subsequent events was really exciting for me. So, 

I think we have the avenues, but sometimes we just need to increase the funding to allow—to make them fit for purpose. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Got it. 

Dr. Arnold. 

Dr. ARNOLD. Certainly. So, there is a Mining Schools Act that is 

making its way through Congress. If we could get that passed, I 

think that would be fabulous. And beyond that, I certainly agree 

with what the other witnesses have said. It’s expanding some of 

the things that we have directly and focusing them on mining. We 

don’t need to have essentially new programs, but making sure that 

mining is included in a lot of those. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Got it. More of everything. You guys actually sound like a bunch of mayors and Governors. That’s what 

they always comment. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. I just want more of everything. Senator 

Braun, got more questions. 

Senator BRAUN. Couple fun facts. You said 15 percent of Australia’s GDP mining, ours is currently 1.4 percent. In 1947 it was 

2.3, I thought it’d be more than that. 1957 it was 2.3, 1967 it 

dipped to 1.4, popped back up to 2.1 in 1977. 1987 it was 1.5 and 

currently it’s 1.4. Healthcare in 1987 was about 6 percent of our 

GDP. Now it’s 18 percent. So, that shows you how economies 

change. 

What’s the one thing other than permitting and like each of you, 

and do it fairly quickly, because then I want to go to the second 

question. What’s the one thing the feds could do to make it better 

for the issues we’re talking about? 

Then No. 2, when it comes to actually fixing workforce, to me it 

looks like that should be the solution of the states, and the bailiwick of education would be states. And most of your particular programs are there. Can that be done between states and their educational systems on correcting this. Second question, but No. 1, 

what is the most important thing the feds could do to make life 

easier? I’ll start with Dr. Arnold. 

Dr. ARNOLD. Well, the most important thing that the Federal 

Government could do would be to, oh my—wasn’t thinking we’d be 

getting a question like this, but how about actually making mining 

more prominent in all of the programs that we talk about. I mean, 

that it is important. Just the importance of mining. 
34 

Senator BRAUN. Sounds like we ought to be doing better at that, 

especially when we’re wanting to be so involved in new ways of energizing stuff that’s going to involve critical minerals. 

Dr. Baskaran. 

Dr. BASKARAN. We need a coordinated strategy for how we’re 

going to do this at a national level. Right now, when I look at critical minerals, I think we counted recently, there were like 12 departments and agencies working on minerals. And ultimately, they 

each have a little bit of a different angle. 

DOD, DOE, state, you need a coordinated approach to workforce 

development that all of these entities can weigh in on. Because 

DOD needs are a little bit different from DOE needs in terms of 

the education required. 

Department of Education is a great place to hold a pin on that. 

But there does need to be coordination between the government or 

we overlap mandates and we’re not doing it efficiently; we discover 

these gaps. Department of Labor has grants that go to mining, but 

it doesn’t overlap. Coordinated strategy, Federal one document, 

this is how we’re going to do this across agencies. 

Mr. EVANS. I’ll go back to the local level. Push trades between 

the state and Federal Government, folks coming out of high school 

now you can make a choice. You can go to college; you get a 4-year 

degree or where you can go be a trades person in general. Trades 

wages pay higher. 

Perhaps some grants or other incentives at the Federal Government along with the state, through facilities and so forth, can push 

that to offer another choice to graduating seniors in high school, 

which is going to give them a career that they eventually can go 

on and start their own business with. We’re going to have to build 

a lot of stuff. 

I mean, I look at things more holistically. There are not only 

mines, but plants, there’s transmission lines, and we have a lack 

of skilled trades in this country and those are the same people. Primarily when I look at our 350 folks, you need those skilled trades, 

not only to build but to operate the facilities like this. 

Mr. ZISCH. Senator, I think one of the key issues is that there’s 

going to be, research funding is critical for mining in the future. 

And I think from a government standpoint, support of any research 

funding would be exceptional. 

Then I think we also need to remember at least conceptually, 

when we talk about mining, it’s a very broad area, it’s not just the 

mines. There’s a lot of other things, processing is certainly essential with regard to critical minerals, rare earth, et cetera. And if 

we can take a look at doing something to help the establishment 

of processing facilities, that can be quite helpful, I would think. But 

research is significant. 

Senator BRAUN. Research would seem to be something maybe 

that would have to be coordinated broadly. In my opinion, when it 

comes down to the successful industries that have addressed this, 

that would be larger parts of our economy, they’re not waiting on 

this place to coordinate it. They’re even not waiting on this place 

to pay for it since we’re borrowing 30 cents on every dollar that we 
35 

spend currently. So, I think I’d maybe look for a different business 

partner there, financially. 

Most of them have finally put it together. And I’m going to cite 

a company that’s a big one, Toyota near where we live, went into 

a rural area, and immediately got in business with their local 

school districts. And then started initiating apprenticeships summer jobs, jobs after school. And they are a large employer in a 

rural area that was in the heart of coal country that’s figured it 

out without any help from this place. 

Much of it, I’ve observed, business has expected our school systems to spit it out. You don’t have the natural proclivity toward 

trades in the way it used to do when we were the No. 1 manufacturing company. We’ve never been that large in the mining arena. 

My advice would be for the companies in this business, don’t wait 

on this place. Get busy with where you are in the states you’re involved with, and I think you can craft most of the solutions that 

we’re talking about, and you’ll get it done a lot more quickly. 

If the Federal Government keeps pushing for all of this and has 

not been very quick at permitting, has made it tough to mine generally, due to their other policies, they better wise up, they can’t 

have their cake and eat it too. It’s been a great discussion. That’ll 

be all the questions I have. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Great. This is a more philosophical 

question, because I think what Senator Braun described is that 

shift toward other priorities, which is healthcare in this case, that’s 

a dramatic change and certainly that’s a reflection of some level of 

the affluence the success of our Country. 

That we can now do a lot more mining with less people. We can 

do a lot more farming with less people. So, those show up as a 

smaller percentage of the workforce and the jobs. But at a certain 

point, just to ask your opinion. Does the swing have—once it creates a momentum of contraction in these jobs, does it put us in a 

position of vulnerability? And I guess I think that’s what I’ve been 

hearing is that now we’re going to have to import an awful lot of 

these workers. 

If you want to build a mining infrastructure that is resilient and 

protects us from being at the mercy of adversarial nations, if we’re 

going to import the workforce, at what point do we begin to counteract that? 

I understand more money into research, more money into the 

education system, closer connection with business the various incentives. Is that enough? The pendulum is swinging and now we’ve 

contracted, now we’re probably past the point where we have the 

sufficient numbers, our education system or workforce training system that provides the workers we need, we probably are significantly understated. And yet it’s still contracting, right? It’s not 

really expanding yet. If I’m right. How do you guys measure that? 

Or am I wrong? It’s a just a philosophical point. 

Mr. ZISCH. Senator. I’ll take that question. I think from the 

standpoint of vulnerability, I don’t think you’re wrong to start with, 

but I think part of the answer is actually automation and technology. We should be able to run these mines with less people in 
36 

the future. The things that are happening in Australia and other 

places where they’re running remotely, I think is part of the answer. 

But that means we need to get these students coming into the 

universities that see automation technology and all, as part of the 

solution, and are going to come into mining to apply those technologies and that applied research, because I think there’s a lot of 

opportunities out there from automation technology, robotics, a lot 

of things going on. 

Mr. EVANS. I think as well, I’ll just kind of go to a higher level. 

I think the Federal Government and state governments, those alliances doing something like this, you need to build allies. So, you 

need a bit of a stamp of approval from the Federal and state government, this is important mining and infrastructure. 

From there, I think companies are happy to partner and we’ve 

started that already with local institutions, even funding some of 

that at a local level with grants and so forth. But the environment 

needs to be enticing where private capital is going to come into this 

industry and actually fund all this. So, big companies like Toyota 

come in, they speak to the state government, the county, they’re 

welcomed. It’s great. You cut ribbons. This is an industry which 

has a stigma right now, and it’s difficult. A lot of folks don’t really 

want to come to your ribbon cutting and really want to get it done. 

But the goal is to have private capital fund all this. I mean we’re 

a recipient of the ATVM Program. It’s hard to even get funding for 

stuff like this because of the unknowns, because of how much time 

it takes and hopefully it’s just temporary. So, you have a rush of 

private capital in here and then all those things that businesses 

can self-fund that themselves because it’s in their own interest to 

do it. Right. 

Dr. BASKARAN. Thanks Senator. It’s a very philosophical question, so I think I’m going to go home and think about it for a bit, 

but I think there’s a couple quick points that jump out to me. 

One is, there’s a balance also between public and private. I can 

appreciate that. We can’t spend our way out of everything. One of 

the models that’s worked really well in a number of countries is the 

idea of a skills levy. So, for example, South Africa, where there’s 

many mining companies run by South African CEOs. They charge 

a 1 percent skills levy to mining companies that turns around and 

goes into a pot of money that essentially then funds all of building 

the pipeline. And South African mining engineers are everywhere 

in the world. And I think a lot of that was because they took that 

capital and put it back in to kind of create a circular system. 

I think what we don’t want is to get to a point, and my fear is 

this, and I’m probably not alone, but we see countries where there’s 

a real workforce impediment. See Brownfield and Greenfield mine 

just dry up. Because especially in a place where you can’t permit 

and if you don’t have the workforce development, you can’t look. 

The U.S. has significant amounts of lithium, it’s not at the high 

end of a lithium because of these various barriers. So, we as a U.S. 

Government, if we want to be serious about, I don’t know catching 

up to like and compare advantage, there’s multiple work streams 
37 

that need to push forward, but if we don’t, we’re going to choke 

ourselves off on the mining front. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Dr. Arnold. 

Dr. ARNOLD. Certainly. One of the other things though I think 

we need to be thinking about is grassroots. We need to get into the 

schools and make sure that they know about the need for the workforce, that it is high tech, I mentioned that in my opening remarks. 

In Pennsylvania, there is an opportunity before next June 30th 

or something like that, to go in and actually address the STEM 

curriculum. It’s actually called Science, Technology, and Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Standards, STEELS, there’s 

more than just STEM. 

I will be working with some of the folks in our education department at Penn State to see if we can get some of the minerals information into the curriculum. And then I forget who mentioned veterans, or the military academies. That’s the next one of the other 

pieces is to go and talk to our veteran’s department on campus, to 

see if those students who have already chosen Penn State might 

not consider a career in mining. So, there’s some grassroots things 

that I think we can all do local, because every bit is local. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. Yes, I guess you could say all mining is 

local, to turn a phrase. You have anything else you want to—any 

points you would like to add? Great. 

Again, thank you so much. To each of you, I know how busy you 

are, and I know it takes a lot of time to get here and to ramp up 

and be prepared. But it adds value and this gets captured on CSPAN, and who knows where, what supermarket you’ll be shopping 

in. Someone says, hey, aren’t you Mr. Evans? Didn’t I see you? 

Don’t you have something to do with lithium? Anyway, thank you 

all, I appreciate that. 

That’s going to end our hearing today. I’d like to thank our colleagues and again, our panel, and also anybody, the in-person, 

viewers, and anyone watching online. For any Senators who wish 

to ask additional questions, questions for the record will be due in 

10 business days, so, until June 26th at 5 p.m. 

Senator HICKENLOOPER. The Subcommittee now stands adjourned. 

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL 

STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD

THE UNITED STEEL, PAPER AND FORESTRY, RUBBER, MANUFACTURING, ENERGY, ALLIED

INDUSTRIAL AND SERVICE WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION (USW)

Chairman Hickenlooper, Ranking Member Braun, and Members of the Committee 

on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions’ Subcommittee on Employment and 

Workplace Safety on behalf of the United Steelworkers (USW) 850,000 members, we 

want to thank you for holding this important hearing on workforce training issues 

in our critical minerals sector. As the largest mining union in the United States— 

and with thousands more mining members in Canada—many of these issues are top 

priorities for USW. 

USW miners have a long history of responsibly extracting and refining a variety 

of metal and non-metal substances, including iron ore, copper, platinum, silver, potash, trona, salt, limestone, sand, clay, and more. Jobs in mining are unique in that 

they cannot be outsourced. Mine operators need a highly skilled, local workforce to 

safely work in mines and, ideally, in co-located minerals processing facilities. 
38 

Union mining jobs are typically high-wage jobs that require a workforce that is 

skilled and uniquely attuned to safety on the job and safety for the community. 

Most mining jobs are located in rural communities, making it challenging to recruit 

a skilled workforce from elsewhere and necessary to train within the local community. 

Our Nation’s principal workforce training legislation—the Workforce Innovation 

and Opportunity Act (WIOA)—has not been updated since 2014. In that time, the 

economy has evolved dramatically, and yet the tools available to workers to adapt 

to this shifting landscape have remained stuck in place. In this era of advanced 

manufacturing, new clean technology, and an ever-changing service sector, workers 

and their employers must have access to high-quality training programs. Accordingly, USW is glad that the HELP Committee is taking action to update our current 

workforce training system and address its shortcomings. 

In this statement, we wish to outline our union’s priorities when it comes to workforce training, with lessons learned from a variety of industries and opportunities 

on the horizon for critical minerals workers. 

We Need a Multi-Faceted Approach to Workforce Training for the Critical 

Minerals Workforce 

A major tenet of USW’s philosophy on workforce training is that a one-size-fitsall model does not work. Our membership is one of the most diverse in the country, 

impacting all economic sectors: we have members in sectors as wide-ranging as 

manufacturing, mining, professional services, construction, healthcare, transportation, and so many more. Each of these sectors—let alone the individual workplaces within them—are all different, and as such, they require different skills and 

techniques to be successful. 

No one training model can work for all of those sectors. For example, Registered 

Apprenticeship (RA) programs are often referred to as the ‘‘gold standard’’ for workforce training in certain sectors—and rightly so. For workers in the building trades, 

a strong, union-sponsored RA program is the best form of training we have. This 

Registered Apprenticeship structure also works in certain industrial settings. 

The reason this model works is because workers are trained in a specific trade 

that is broadly applicable across workplaces. For example, if a worker goes through 

an RA program and eventually becomes a journeyperson as an ironworker, they can 

then use those skills as an ironworker on a number of projects, regardless of the 

specifics of the workplace (e.g., repairing a bridge or building a skyscraper). 

However, there are just as many, if not more, industries where a Registered Apprenticeship model does not work. Take two of our union’s larger sectors: mining 

and paper. Both are large-scale industrial sectors where maintenance is an essential 

job function to make a facility work. However, being a maintenance worker at a 

mine requires a very different set of skills than being a maintenance worker at a 

paper mill. As such, a standardized Registered Apprenticeship model would not 

work to effectively train a worker in these settings. 

Instead, what is needed is a workforce training system that is as diverse as our 

economy. An optimal workforce training system built for the 21st century economy 

must leverage all of the skills, talent, and techniques that make our Country the 

strongest economy in the world. This includes investments in effective training programs like Registered Apprenticeships, while also directing resources toward other 

proven training programs that develop the specific skills needed by employers. 

USW has high-quality training programs across the country that can serve as inspiration for the types of training in mining and minerals processing that need more 

Federal support. For example: 

• Incumbent Worker Training: USW Local 135L negotiated with 

Sumitomo Rubber in Tonawanda, NY to stand up a Junior Electrician 

program, which made it easier for workers to earn a credential through 

an accelerated education and on-the-job training program. Although not 

an official Registered Apprenticeship program, this arrangement works 

with both the employer and the workers to upskill in a way that benefits 

both parties. 

• Partnerships With Local Community Colleges: USW collaborates 

with Cleveland Cliffs and Ivy Tech Community College in Valparaiso, IN 

to sponsor an ‘‘Interdisciplinary Industrial Workforce Certificate Program’’ course worth 40 credits. The program is a pre-employment training 
39 

1 The Brookings Institution, ‘‘Should the Federal Government spend more on workforce development?’’ May 23, 2023 2 Ibid. 

opportunity that offers a mix of coursework through Ivy Tech Community 

College and on-the-job paid internships at Cleveland Cliffs. 

• Using DOE Grants to Provide Community Members With Credentials: Funded by a Department of Energy (DOE) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) grant, USW Local 8–550 and Local 

1–689 have partnered with West Kentucky Community and Technical 

College to run a free, 240-hour Radiation Control Technician training program to community members in Paducah, KY. Launched in 2021, the 

graduates earn a DOE-recognized credential, and fully 90 percent of the 

first cohort are now employed as USW members at the Paducah plant. 

These are just a few instances that underscore the multitude of effective, unionsponsored training programs that are not Registered Apprenticeships. As Congress 

considers legislation to update our workforce training system, it is imperative that 

they complement the benefits of Registered Apprenticeship programs by also investing in alternative proven, union-sponsored programs like the ones described here. 

Labor-Management Partnerships Are on the Horizon 

Our union has signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and partnership 

agreements with multiple companies in the battery materials supply chain, all including the goal of jointly recruiting and training a diverse, local workforce to fill 

these new jobs. 

One exciting example is our partnership with Talon Metals, a company in the permitting process for an underground nickel mine in Tamarack, MN, that will employ 

approximately 300 workers. Talon has also been selected for funding from the DOE’s 

Battery Minerals Processing Grant Program under the Bipartisan Infrastructure 

Law to process nickel at a facility in North Dakota. USW and Talon are collaborating on how to identify needed skills, develop local workforce development partnerships, and recruit a local workforce for training. While the Talon project is still 

a couple of years away from hiring most of its workforce, USW expects that this 

partnership can serve as a model for other parts of the industry. 

We Need to Improve Our Current Workforce Training System 

It is important to put our current situation into a historical and global context. 

Historically, one study found that ‘‘Federal Government spending for workforce services and training have dropped by two-thirds despite the fact that the labor force 

has grown by about 50 percent since that time’’. 1 Looking across the world, that 

same study found that many industrialized nations spend as much as five times 

more of their gross domestic product (GDP) than the United States on such active 

labor market policies. 2 We need significantly more investment if we want to provide 

our workers with the best-in-the-world training that they need to succeed in our 

21st century economy. 

Another shortcoming of our existing system is the limited role that labor plays 

in shaping workforce training programs. When it comes to on-the-job training, a 

simple truth emerges: workers know best how to do their jobs, and by extension, 

they also know what skills they could benefit from. 

However, our current approach is not set up in a way that recognizes this fundamental truth. For example, under WIOA, state and local workforce development 

boards are overrepresented by industry and underrepresented by labor. With such 

imbalance between employers and labor, it is no wonder that our current workforce 

training system is failing to meet the needs of workers. 

In addition to labor’s underrepresentation on state and local workforce boards, another key limitation of our current system is that it does not prioritize funding labor 

intermediaries and joint labor-management programs. Labor-sponsored programs, 

for the same reason mentioned above, are the best-known forms of effective workforce training. As such, we strongly urge you to include priority funding for laborsponsored programs, as well as labor consultation and/or concurrence language in 

any update to WIOA. 

These represent a few of our union’s major priorities as it relates to workforce 

training. We appreciate the efforts that the HELP Committee is taking to update 
40 

3 U.S. Census Bureau, ‘‘Census Working Papers—Can Displaced Labor Be Retrained? Evidence from Quasi-Random Assignment to Trade Adjustment Assistance’’, February 2022. 

and improve our workforce training system, and we urge the Committee to implement our union’s priorities in any such effort. 

We Need Other Policies That Support Effective Workforce Training 

Lastly, in addition to strong investments in our principal workforce training system, there is also a need to improve related policies that we have to support workers. Market concentration by China has the potential to create significant shifts in 

global prices, and therefore operations in the United States. We only have to look 

at recent history of Chinese market pressures on the steel industry, rare earths, and 

other materials to see the impacts it can have on U.S. businesses and workers. 

From USW’s perspective, reforming the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act and reauthorizing Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) are key 

to protecting the critical minerals workforce. 

The WARN Act was passed into law back in 1988 with the goal of providing workers advanced notice in the event of a plant closure or mass layoff, so that they would 

have time to enroll in retraining programs and/or look for a new job. Although noble 

in its intent, the WARN Act has several loopholes and shortcomings that limit its 

efficacy. For example, the law exempts certain ‘‘smaller employers’’ and only requires 60 days notice. Also, there are limited enforcement mechanisms when employers fail to give adequate notice. To address these limitations, USW has long endorsed the Fair Warning Act, which would expand the number of firms required to 

give WARN notice, and it would increase the notice timing from 60 to 90 days. USW 

has also been supportive of legislative solutions to provide the Department of Labor 

(DOL) with investigative and enforcement powers related to WARN violations. 

These reforms would ensure that workers are actually provided with the necessary 

time and resources to transition if their workplace is to close. 

Reauthorizing TAA is also critical to supporting workers who need training after 

losing their job due to a trade-induced shock. These workers, much like those impacted by WARN closures, have lost their job through no fault of their own. Historically, these trade-displaced workers could rely on TAA to provide income replacement, as well as training opportunities. Much like Registered Apprenticeships for 

the construction trades, TAA has often been called ‘‘the gold standard’’ for job retraining. Its efficacy in linking workers with strong retraining programs make it a 

highly impactful benefit for workers. According to a study by the Census Bureau, 

TAA recipients earn an average of $50,000 more in income over a 10-year period 

compared to workers who did not participate in the program. 3 However, TAA lapsed 

at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. Since then, any worker who has lost their job 

since June 30, 2022 has been unable to access TAA benefits. As of June 2024, DOL 

estimates that 745 petitions covering 118,057 workers are on hold, awaiting TAA 

to be reauthorized. USW has strongly pushed for TAA to be reauthorized to ensure 

that those workers can access these much-needed benefits. 

Taken together, each of these policy initiatives, in conjunction with enhanced resources for workforce training, would help position the U.S. critical minerals workforce to lead the world in responsible extraction and processing. 

Conclusion 

In closing, workforce training is essential to ensuring that the U.S. can build the 

needed workforce to mine and process critical minerals necessary for the clean energy economy. To achieve this goal, policy must guarantee that there are adequate 

seats at the table for labor, increase funding for workforce training, and ensure that 

workers are trained for the jobs available in their communities. Further, we need 

to make sure the complementary policies align with these goals. USW looks forward 

to working with Congress to ensure that the critical minerals workforce is highly 

skilled and sufficient to meet demand. We thank you again for the opportunity to 

submit this statement for the record on this essential hearing. 
41 

MP MATERIALS CORP, 

June 10, 2024. 

Hon. JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Chairman, 

Hon. MIKE BRAUN, Ranking Member, 

U.S. Senate Subcommittee Employment and Workplace Saftey, 

U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, 

Washington, DC. 

RE: STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD OF MP MATERIALS CORP. ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN THE CRITICAL MINERALS SECTOR 

Chairman Hickenlooper, Ranking Member Braun, and distinguished Members of 

the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, MP Materials 

Corp. (‘‘MP Materials’’ or ‘‘Company’’) appreciates this opportunity to provide this 

written statement and supplement the record in advance of the Subcommittee’s 

June 12 hearing, ‘‘Digging Deeper: Building Our Critical Minerals Workforce.’’ 

Introduction to MP Materials 

MP Materials, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, is the largest rare earth materials producer in the United States. The Company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility (‘‘Mountain Pass’’), located in 

San Bernardino County, California. Mountain Pass is one of the world’s largest integrated rare earth production sites and the only major active resource in the United 

States. MP is a publicly traded U.S. company listed on the New York Stock Exchange with approximately 730 U.S. employees. 

MP Materials’ mission is to restore the full rare earth supply chain to the United 

States. Rare earth elements (‘‘REE’’) are a group of 17 chemical elements (15 

lanthanides and two transition metals) with a wide range of high-tech applications. 

Neodymium magnets, which are manufactured from an alloy containing REEs, are 

the strongest and most efficient permanent magnets commercially available. These 

magnets enable the conversion of energy into motion (and motion into energy) inside 

motors, actuators, and generators found in hybrid and electric vehicles, critical defense systems, robotics, wind turbines, drones, and electronics. As electrification and 

autonomy take hold across the global economy, demand for REEs and permanent 

magnets is growing. 

MP Materials was founded in 2017 to acquire Mountain Pass, after severe operational and financial challenges forced the site’s previous owner into bankruptcy. At 

the time, the facility was idle with just eight employees. Since restarting operations 

from cold-idle, MP Materials has increased production at Mountain Pass dramatically. In 2023, MP Materials produced approximately 12 percent of global rare earth 

content at Mountain Pass. We believe Mountain Pass is now the world’s second 

most productive rare earth mine. Additionally, in 2023, we began producing separated and refined rare earth products at newly commissioned processing facilities 

collocated at Mountain Pass, thereby filling a critical void in the midstream of the 

supply chain. 

To fulfill our mission to restore the full supply chain, MP is currently constructing 

and equipping the first fully integrated neodymium magnet manufacturing facility 

built in America in decades, in Fort Worth, Texas. This facility will transform rare 

earth materials produced at Mountain Pass into metals, alloys, and finished neodymium magnets for General Motors and other American manufacturers. 

Efforts to Build Our Workforce 

At MP Materials, our workforce is the backbone of our operations. We are dedicated to building a talented, committed, and skilled team that drives our mission 

forward. Since relaunching production at Mountain Pass in July 2017, we have 

grown from eight contractors to approximately 730 full-time employees. This significant increase in our workforce reflects our rapid business expansion and a commitment to fostering a culture that prioritizes ownership, safety, and professional 

growth. 

Central to our operations is the ‘‘owner-operator’’ philosophy we promulgate, 

which empowers every employee to take ownership of their work and the Company’s 

success. We believe that when employees are stakeholders, they are more engaged, 

motivated, and aligned with our mission. This culture fosters innovation, accountability, and a shared commitment to excellence. Our employees are encouraged to 

think and act like owners, which drives continuous improvement and operational 
42 

success. To align incentives, every full-time employee of the company receives equity 

compensation. 

Retention is a critical component of our workforce strategy. We recognize that retaining skilled employees is essential for maintaining operational excellence and 

achieving long-term goals. To this end, we offer competitive pay and comprehensive 

benefits that include health management programs and an Employee Assistance 

Program (EAP) to support the mental and physical health of our employees and 

their families. Our efforts have resulted in a retention rate of over 90 percent, underscoring our success in creating a supportive and rewarding work environment. 

To ensure our employees are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge, 

we provide comprehensive training and development programs. All new employees 

undergo a minimum of 24 hours of training during onboarding, followed by annual 

refresher courses and specific field training. In 2022, our employees completed over 

7,500 hours of new hire and refresher training and 1,792 hours of emergency medical response training. Our employees’ career progression is based upon continuous 

skill development and mastery through field and computer-based training. We also 

offer apprenticeship programs that combine classroom education with practical field 

experience. These programs, particularly in electrical and instrumentation, allow 

employees to obtain journeyman licenses, enhancing their professional opportunities 

and earning potential. 

Our workforce development initiatives include partnerships with local high 

schools, community colleges, and universities to create tailored recruiting and training programs that meet our industry’s needs. These partnerships help establish a 

talent pipeline and provide students with practical experience and job opportunities 

upon graduation. By collaborating with educational institutions, we support local 

workforce development and create pathways for students to enter high-demand 

fields. 

The health and safety of our employees is paramount. Every staff meeting begins 

with a ‘‘safety share,’’ where employees are encouraged to discuss recent safety observations, potential hazards, and preventive measures. Our annual calendar features safety-focused art drawn by the children of our employees. The finished product serves as a vivid and daily reminder of the importance of returning home safely. 

This relentless focus on safety has contributed to an impressive record—in more 

than 4 years, no employee of MP Materials has experienced a lost time injury. 

By investing in our workforce through training and development, we create pathways for career advancement and professional growth. Our employees benefit from 

a supportive work environment that encourages continuous learning and skill development, helping them progress in their careers and contribute to the Company’s 

long-term success. This focus on professional growth from within is key to our retention strategy, as employees see clear career paths and opportunities for advancement within the Company. 

Recommendations to Cultivate an Effective Workforce 

The mining and mineral processing industry suffers from a critical shortage in 

skilled labor. In addition, skilled trades (machinists, mobile and stationary equipment mechanics, electricians, instrumentation technicians, millwrights, etc.) are increasingly difficult to retain, resulting in low labor productivity and underutilization 

of assets. U.S. critical material producers must compete in global commodity markets, and this directly impairs U.S. competitiveness and therefore mineral security. 

We recommend further investments by the U.S. Government into developing the 

skilled trade workforce in regions involved in critical minerals production. To address this challenge and ensure the sustainability of the industry, we recommend 

the following government actions: 

Support for Education and Training Programs: The government 

should increase funding for education and training programs focused on industrial equipment used in mining, mineral processing, and related fields. 

Partnerships with middle schools, high schools, community colleges, vocational schools, and universities can help develop specialized curriculums 

that align with industry needs. Apprenticeship programs, similar to those 

we have implemented, should be supported and expanded to provide handson training and professional certification opportunities. At MP Materials, 

starting operator wages, excluding voluntary overtime and benefits, offer 

equivalent compensation to entry-level positions that require a 4-year college degree. Rates of growth in compensation significantly above inflation 

are achieved through lines of progression tied to on-the-job training. At the 
43 

same time, skilled trades-people have wages that reach well into the six figures. Having educational institutions inform young people of this potential 

rewarding career path while also providing basic skills necessary for success would be a huge benefit to U.S. critical minerals development. 

Incentives for Workforce Development: Offering tax credits or subsidies to companies that invest in workforce development can encourage 

businesses to prioritize training and education. These incentives can help 

offset the costs associated with comprehensive training programs and make 

it more feasible for companies to invest in their employees’ professional 

growth. 

Promotion of STEM Education: Encouraging STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education from an early age is crucial for developing future talent. Government initiatives that promote 

STEM programs in schools, provide scholarships for STEM students, and 

support extracurricular activities like robotics clubs and science fairs can 

inspire the next generation of professionals in the mining and mineral processing industry. 

Support for Advanced Research and Development: Investing in research and development (R&D) can drive innovation and efficiency in the 

mining and mineral processing industry. Government grants and funding 

for R&D projects, particularly those focused on technologies capable of creating meaningful commercial outcomes in mineral processing in the near 

and medium term, will help companies stay competitive and attract top talent interested in working with cutting-edge technologies. 

Implementation of National Workforce Development Strategies: The 

government should develop and implement a comprehensive national workforce development strategy for the mining and mineral processing industry. 

This strategy should include a clear vision, goals, and action plans to address current and future workforce needs. Regular assessments and updates to the strategy will ensure it remains relevant and effective. 

Conclusion 

MP Materials is dedicated to restoring the full rare earth supply chain to the 

United States and to building a talented, committed, and skilled workforce. We believe that with a level playing field and the right support, American producers can 

work with educators to address the critical skills shortage and ensure the sustainability and growth of the domestic critical minerals mining and processing industry. 

Although the industry faces headwinds, we are optimistic that the growth and community enrichment that has occurred in Mountain Pass, California, can be replicated across the country. 

Thank you for the opportunity to provide this written testimony. We would be 

pleased to further engage with the Subcommittee on the issues and opportunities 

and look forward to working together to achieve these goals. 

Respectfully submitted, 

MATT SLOUSTCHER, 

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, 

COMMUNICATIONS AND POLICY, 

MP MATERIALS CORP. 

[Whereupon, at 3:50 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

Æ