Haley Zaremba
Haley Zaremba is an energy journalist and researcher with more than a decade of professional experience covering global energy systems, land and natural resources, and…
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By Haley Zaremba – Sep 17, 2026, 4:00 PM CDT
- US universities awarded just 163 mining engineering degrees in 2025, versus 3,000 in China, while the country will need 6,000 new mining engineers over the next decade.
- The Department of Energy is offering $16 million through its PROSPECT Planning Prize, handing $1 million each to 16 mining school programs to build up domestic talent.
- China’s grip on refining keeps tightening in some areas: overall critical minerals refining share rose from 70 percent to 72 percent even as its rare earths share slipped to 85 percent.
The United States is desperate to claw back some of the global critical minerals share from China. Beijing has established near-total dominance in international supply chains over the last several decades through its far-reaching Belt and Road Initiative in addition to other deals and programs that have given China a massive presence in mineral-rich countries and emerging markets across the globe. This gives Beijing critical economic and political leverage as these materials become ever more sought after to power the global tech manufacturing sector, and the Trump administration wants to do anything in its power to flip that script.
The United States has been investing heavily in critical minerals in recent years, especially when it comes to refining capacities. Major investments on the part of the U.S. as well as Malaysia have taken a small bite out of China’s share of global rare earth materials refining – but not by much. As of 2025, China refined 85 percent of the world’s rare earths, down from 90 percent in 2023. However, looking past rare earths to critical minerals in general, China’s share of refining actually rose over that period, from 70 percent to 72 percent.
No matter how you slice it, it’s a dramatic advantage. Especially when you consider the fact that critical minerals are only set to grow in economic importance on a global scale. The International Energy Agency projects that global demand for critical minerals will more-than double by 2040, driven by the continued expansion of energy technologies such as battery storage, solar and wind, electricity networks and electric vehicles.
Moreover, leaving so much leverage in the hands of Beijing creates critical vulnerabilities for global supply chains and energy security. China has shown in the past that it is not afraid to weaponize its geopolitical leverage for political gain. Beijing has used critical minerals trade as a bargaining chip throughout its trade wars with the United States, and threatened to cut off supplies to Japan earlier this year due to Japan’s support for a free Taiwan, in opposition to China’s desire to annex the island nation.
This week, the Department of Energy took aim at one of the major weak points in domestic critical mineral production capacities – a lack of trained workforce. In 2025, just 163 degrees in mining engineering were awarded in the entire United States. In China, that number was 3,000. Making things even more stark, maintaining the critical mineral supply chain in the United States will require 6,000 mining engineers over the next decade.
To solve this problem, this week the Department of Energy offered a total of $16 million to advance education in critical minerals across the United States through the PROSPECT Planning Prize. The prize chooses 16 different mining school programs, to receive $1 million each to help build a domestic workforce capable of producing, processing, recovering, and recycling critical minerals.
“It is a highly aggressive prize designed with measurable outcomes,” DOE Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson told the Washington Examiner. “The goal [is] to have graduates coming out of these programs with degrees and programs that are going to meet the needs of American reindustrialization.”
The United States is also eager to ink more deals with primary producers of critical minerals. The Trump administration reports that it has signed and/or approved more than 150 critical minerals deals collectively worth more than $40 billion since the beginning of the president’s second term. However, the United States lags far behind China in this effort as well, and has struggled to make a foothold in some markets where Beijing already has a large presence.
For example, the Biden administration tried to strike deals within South America’s lithium triangle but struggled to make inroads with leadership in Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia. While China managed to ink deals in the region years ago, political sentiment has now shifted toward keeping refining capacity and value addition within the region, largely shutting U.S. companies out.
By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com
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Haley Zaremba
Haley Zaremba is an energy journalist and researcher with more than a decade of professional experience covering global energy systems, land and natural resources, and…
