Barr Announces $1M Federal Grant to University of Kentucky to Build Critical Minerals Workforce

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY-06) announced that the University of Kentucky (UK) has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to receive $1 million through the PROSPECT Planning Prize. The award will help UK train the next generation of mining engineers and critical minerals professionals. Barr voted for the federal funding that is being delivered to UK to boost this program. "Kentucky helped power this country for generations, and our state has a central role to play in America's energy and mineral independence," said Congressman Barr. "Right now, we depend far too much on China and other foreign adversaries for the critical minerals behind everything from our power grid to our defense systems. Fixing that starts with the workforce. I was proud to vote for the funding behind this program, and I congratulate the University of Kentucky on earning this award. UK's mining engineering program will help ensure the minerals we need are produced, processed, and recycled by American workers on American soil." “Meeting the energy needs of the future will take new ideas, strong partnerships and a workforce prepared to put those ideas into practice,” said Zach Agioutantis, Ph.D., chair of mining engineering in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering . “At UK, we are bringing those pieces together — giving students meaningful opportunities, while advancing solutions that benefit Kentucky and communities across the country.” About PROSPECT On October 26, DOE's Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) selected 16 universities to share a total of $16 million through the PROSPECT Planning Prize. The prize supports universities in developing the skilled workforce required to produce, process, recover, and recycle critical minerals in the United States. Other selected schools include Colorado School of Mines, Penn State, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia University. The Planning Prize is part of DOE's broader $100 million Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies (PROSPECT) initiative. PROSPECT aims to double the number of graduates with mining, minerals, and related supply chain credentials within two years. Over the long term, it will support new curricula, modern teaching tools, scholarships, financial aid, and other incentives to grow these fields. The initiative also seeks to modernize critical minerals education with emerging technologies like automation, data science, advanced manufacturing, and systems engineering. The need is urgent. Enrollment in American mining programs has fallen by roughly 45 percent since 2015, and DOE estimates the nation will need approximately 6,000 new mining engineers over the next decade. Critical minerals and rare earth elements are essential to manufacturing energy infrastructure, defense systems, automobiles, and consumer electronics. UK's Leadership in Mining and Critical Minerals UK's Department of Mining Engineering is one of the oldest programs of its kind in the country and one of only 14 accredited mining engineering programs in the nation. Students train hands-on at UK's Experimental Mine, a one-of-a-kind facility for research and instruction in blasting and explosives, rock mechanics, ventilation, and mine safety. UK's Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) is a national leader in recovering critical minerals and rare earth elements from domestic sources, including Kentucky coal. Researchers have developed processes to extract valuable metals and minerals from coal byproducts in the Western Kentucky coalfields. They have also studied Eastern Kentucky, home to a significant domestic source of rare earth elements. UK is also a partner in DOE's nearly $25 million "Building the Mine of the Future" initiative, which will create a national proving ground for autonomous and connected mining technologies in underground and surface environments. Earlier this month, Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson visited UK's campus to tour the Experimental Mine, meet with mining engineering students, and see CAER's critical minerals research firsthand. The PROSPECT Planning Prize is funded by CMEI and managed by the National Laboratory of the Rockies under the American-Made prize program. More information is available here . ###