BHP and Rio Tinto join White House mining talent talks

• BHP and Rio Tinto will join White House discussions to help resolve a major US mining talent shortage.
• The meeting highlights progress for the joint venture project near Phoenix following recent court victories and contract awards.
• US and Australian leaders are pursuing $4.6 billion in investments to secure critical mineral supplies outside China.

BHP (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) will meet US officials to help solve a 300-person mining engineer shortage.

The US requires 600 new mining engineers annually, but domestic universities currently graduate only 300 each year.

"This is a major early commitment within our broader US$500 million investment programme," said Resolution Copper President Vicky Peacey.

Resolution Copper stated that its US$500 million investment programme recently awarded major drilling and development contracts to American firms.

Following the announcement, the BHP share price was unchanged at $62.82, while Rio Tinto’s share price stood at $176.30.

The miners are advancing plans for their joint venture copper project in Arizona to supply critical technology components.

Australia and the US previously pledged $4.6 billion to build critical mineral supply chains outside China.