Building America’s Critical Mineral Workforce
America’s critical minerals future depends on people with the skills to discover, produce, process, manufacture, recover and recycle the materials our economy and national security depend on.
The University of Utah is building the workforce to meet that need. Through PROSPECT, we will create more pathways into critical minerals careers—connecting education, hands-on experience, research and industry to prepare students for opportunities across the minerals supply chain.
Built in Utah. Built for America.
Connecting education, research, and industry across the entire mineral lifecycle.
Academic Foundations
The University of Utah unites three colleges each of which delivers comprehensive education, advanced research degrees, and targeted technical certifications within the critical minerals value chain.
Institute for Critical & Strategic Minerals
The University of Utah’s Institute for Critical and Strategic Minerals (ICSM) brings together expertise from across the university to tackle critical minerals challenges that no single discipline can solve alone.
By connecting researchers and partners across discovery, extraction, processing, materials, manufacturing, recovery, and recycling, ICSM turns broad university capabilities into a coordinated critical minerals ecosystem—advancing research, strengthening industry partnerships, and creating new opportunities for the workforce.
"At the U, the critical minerals value
chain isn't something students simply study. It's something they can experience."
From the Ground to What Comes Next
Our approach reaches across the critical minerals lifecycle, bringing together disciplines that prepare students to understand not only one piece of the value chain, but how those pieces connect.
Identifying America’s Subsurface Wealth
Students learn advanced geological mapping, geophysical exploration, and core sample analysis to locate and assess vital critical mineral deposits across North America.
Modern Sustainable Subsurface Mining
Focuses on modern extraction techniques, subterranean robotics, autonomous equipment, safety systems, and minimizing surface environmental footprints.
Advanced Metallurgical Separation
Training experts in chemical hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, bio-leaching, and precision separation required to turn raw ore into high-purity mineral concentrates.
Critical Input Fabrication
Converting refined minerals into specialized alloys, battery components, defense hardware, and clean energy inputs used by leading aerospace and technology manufacturers.
Tailings Recovery & Recycling
Closing the loop by developing breakthrough technology to re-process mine waste, recover leftover rare earths from industrial tailings, and recycle end-of-life products.
A Strategic Mandate for Domestic Energy
America needs mining engineers, geological engineers, metallurgists, mineral processing experts, material scientists, manufacturing professionals, technicians, researchers and innovators. Our approach is designed to reach students earlier, create new pathways into critical minerals education, expand hands-on learning and connect students directly with the industries that need their skills.
That means
- More opportunities to discover the field.
- More ways to study it.
- More opportunities to experience it.
- And more graduates prepared to enter it.
"We are not simply educating students; we are developing the exact industrial talent pipeline required to secure America's critical supply chain."
-- President Taylor Randall
Building the Pipeline America Needs
The United States faces a severe shortage of specialized engineers and scientists. Our mission goes beyond classroom lectures—we provide direct experiential exposure to labs, mine sites, and processing facilities.