A Trump administration plan to bolster American critical minerals production by training more miners won’t loosen China’s chokehold on the sector, according to industry executives and mining school officials.
The White House pledged $180 million last week to double by 2028 the number of mining school graduates with the skills necessary to work in the critical minerals sector. But even if that plan succeeds it won’t produce a fraction of the number of workers that the rapidly expanding industry requires.
It also ignored a fix that industry and mining school representatives say would help quickly — bringing in foreign workers.
“The administration should consider alliances or treaties with certain nations, such as India,” to source skilled workers said a senior executive of a rare earth magnet producer, who, like others, was granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of their comments. “Those working critical minerals or magnets should be treated like royalty — their skills are a national asset.”
