Last week, President Donald Trump announced more than $180 million in grants to strengthen educational and trade programs for the mining industry. These investments are designed to bolster the American workforce and accelerate critical mineral production. The federal government is focused on building technology innovation hubs, forging project-focused partnerships between students and industry, developing new processes and prototypes, and providing students across the nation with access to degrees in mining, geology, and metallurgy.
Nevada is leading the charge.
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At the University of Nevada, Reno, and at Lithium Americas, we share a common mission: develop a pipeline of skilled mining and mineral processing workers ready for high-wage, technical careers, and build an economy that delivers for every corner of this state. Together, through the work of Nevada’s higher education leader and North America’s leading lithium developer, we are preparing students for the careers that will define this century.
The growing lithium industry is central to Nevada and the nation’s future. The major lithium mining project underway between Lithium Americas and General Motors offers an unparalleled opportunity for a resilient, regional critical mineral supply chain. Lithium powers the batteries that store renewable energy, drive electric vehicles, and support the technology modern life depends on. A secure, domestic source of lithium is not just an economic driver — it is a strategic imperative.
The economic stakes are significant. A 2024 University of Nevada, Reno, Cooperative Extension study projects that this single lithium mining project will generate more than $1 billion per year in investment during its construction phase alone. Over the 40-year life of the project, average annual economic impacts during operations are projected to exceed $2.1 billion in statewide investment, alongside more than $148 million in personal income and more than 1,600 direct and indirect jobs annually. The project is also estimated to deliver more than $28 million in local and county taxes and more than $51 million in state taxes each year.
Every direct job created is projected to generate more than two additional jobs in supporting sectors. This ripple effect reaches grocery stores, contractors, schools, and service businesses across the region.
But jobs do not appear out of thin air. They require training, investment, and institutions willing to build the workforce pipeline. The University of Nevada, Reno, is the natural academic anchor for this work. Home to the Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, the University produces graduates who support exploration, mine development, mineral processing, and responsible resource management worldwide. The Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology examines every aspect of this work: what resources are present, how they are distributed, and what processing challenges lie ahead.
The University of Nevada, Reno, Tech Hub is one of just 31 federally designated innovation hubs in the nation and is working to complete what Governor Joe Lombardo aptly called the “Lithium Loop”: a full-spectrum lithium economy within Nevada spanning extraction, processing, battery manufacturing, and recycling. Nearly $2 million has already been invested in a training facility at Great Basin College in Winnemucca, built specifically to meet Lithium Americas’ workforce needs. These efforts support the entire battery value chain, from lithium production at Thacker Pass to battery recycling by Nevada-based Redwood Materials, and strengthen the companies in between, including Panasonic, Dragonfly, and many more.
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Partnerships like the one between the University of Nevada, Reno, and Lithium Americas show just what Nevada can be for the next generation: a hub of domestic resource production, a training ground for high-wage technical careers, and proof that responsible development and environmental protection are not in conflict, but in fact can be a reality.
Nevada will continue to deliver for our nation’s critical mineral supply chain. With sustained investment and unwavering commitment, our country will be safer and more secure because of what we build, and sustain, right here in the Silver State.
Brian Sandoval is president of the University of Nevada, Reno. Jonathan Evans is president and CEO of Lithium Americas.
