South Dakota Mines Prepares Students to Tackle the Nation's Critical Minerals and Workforce Shortfalls
The demand for critical minerals, the building blocks for modern technologies like clean energy and B-21 bombers, is skyrocketing. Yet, the nation's supply falls dramatically short of filling this demand.
Along with a declining workforce, the mineral industry faces significant global challenges.
South Dakota Mines, however, is taking the lead in being part of the solution. The South Dakota Board of Regents recently approved two new minors focused on critical minerals education and research. The programs, set to start this fall, will provide students with an understanding of the current state of critical minerals and the technical challenges and opportunities, according to Jon Kellar, PhD, professor of materials and metallurgical engineering and the team lead for the new mining programs.
The federal government defines critical minerals as metals, minerals, and other materials at high risk for supply chain disruptions and essential to the function and security of the nation.
From cell phones and electric vehicles to surgery equipment and weapons, these key elements, buried in the Earth's crust, make up nearly everything in our modern lives.
Kellar said that the United States needs to dramatically increase its exploration, mining, processing, and extraction of these necessary minerals. The new Mines program will focus on exactly that. It is comprised of two parts: exploration and development -discovering it and getting it out of the ground - and mineral processing and metal extraction.
“We haven’t done new significant domestic mining since the 1980s,” Kellar said. “The mining industry continues to decline because we are not educating people about the changes and needs.”
Without new mining, the country must depend on other countries, such as China, for its supply.
“We have a need in the United States for these materials. If it can’t be grown, it must be mined,” said Andrea Brickey, PhD, a professor in the Department of Mining Engineering and Management. “For decades, there has been a mindset that mining is bad and that we don't need to do it. Now, we have created a situation where we need these for renewable energy and national security and rely on countries that are not our friends. We are beholden to them, and unlike the United States, many of these countries lack environmental and safety regulations.”
Through these new minors, students will develop their problem-solving skills and create new ways to reduce environmental impacts and increase mining safety, Brickey said.
The university is focusing on what is happening in the world, added Christopher Pellowski, PhD, an instructor in the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering. “It's a national need, and Mines students will get on the inside track to understand the importance of these critical minerals and contribute to solving the problems.”
The new minors can benefit students across many disciplines, not simply mining, Pellowski said.
The program will also help with the industry's drastically declining workforce, said Rudrajit Mitra, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Mining Engineering and Management at Mines.
According to the Society of Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, more than half of the nation's current mining workforce, about 221,000 workers, is expected to retire by 2029
“We are taking a lot of initiatives to develop a knowledgeable future workforce. These students will make an important and positive impact on our country,” Mitra said.