The US Department of Energy selected four projects to receive $73 million in federal funding to build domestic testing grounds for mining technologies, the agency announced Wednesday. The Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation chose the recipients under its Mine of the Future initiative to evaluate automation, electrification, and digital tools in real operating conditions.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that moving experimental systems into field settings aims to tap domestic reserves and secure critical mineral supply chains tied to manufacturing, energy, and national defense. Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson added that the facilities will speed commercial adoption by evaluating prototypes before broad industrial deployment.
Innovative Wireless Technologies, based in Lynchburg, Virginia, will establish underground and surface proving sites in Julian, West Virginia, Idaho Springs, Colorado, and Blacksburg, Virginia. The company plans to validate industrial communications equipment, automation systems, and digital networks across these three locations.
University teams secured the remaining three selections through the agency's Advanced Mining and Mineral Processing Technologies Office. The University of Arizona will construct an underground site in Sahuarita, Arizona, focusing on mine electrification, energy management systems, and mineral extraction efficiency.
Curators of the University of Missouri will build two linked facilities in Rolla, Missouri. That project combines an underground testing site with an advanced comminution research laboratory to study rock crushing and grinding equipment.
Southern Methodist University will repurpose an instrumented drilling facility in Navasota, Texas, to build a synthetic mine. The site will test automated drilling rigs, sensor arrays, and mining workflows under repeatable conditions, while providing operational training for engineers and field miners.
