Appendix B
Statement of Task
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene a workshop to consider how the United States can build the capacity of federal and state agencies, academia, and the private sector to meet U.S. minerals workforce needs. Recognizing that expertise in mineral resources and their extraction (e.g., identification, delineation, land use evaluation, environmental evaluation, mining/extraction/mineral processing, reclamation) will be needed, the workshop will explore questions such as:
- What skills are anticipated to be needed for a future workforce in mineral resources (e.g., critical mineral exploration, development, assessment, production, manufacturing, recycling, analysis, forecasting)?
- How can higher education programs best prepare their students for careers that support mineral resource development and related fields (e.g., through the development of curricula, internships, training programs, professional exposure, research opportunities)?
- What graduate-level mining, mining engineering, mineral resources, or related programs (whether in the United States or abroad) might serve as a model for strengthening U.S. higher education programs?
- What types of support (e.g., industry-agency-academic partnerships, federal grant programs to support faculty, research, equipment, internship/mentorship opportunities) will higher education programs need to meet U.S. minerals workforce demands and increase the supply of trained workers in the critical minerals industry?