The 50 Minerals Critical to U.S. Security

The 50 Minerals Critical to U.S. Security

This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email every week.

The U.S. aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 as part of its commitment to tackling climate change, but might be lacking the critical minerals needed to achieve its goals.

The American green economy will rely on renewable sources of energy like wind and solar, along with the electrification of transportation. However, local production of the raw materials necessary to produce these technologies, including solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles, is lacking. Understandably, this has raised concerns in Washington.

In this graphic, based on data from the U.S. Geological Survey, we list all of the minerals that the government has deemed critical to both the economic and national security of the United States.

What are Critical Minerals?

A critical mineral is defined as a non-fuel material considered vital for the economic well-being of the world’s major and emerging economies, whose supply may be at risk. This can be due to geological scarcity, geopolitical issues, trade policy, or other factors.

In 2018, the U.S. Department of the Interior released a list of 35 critical minerals. The new list, released in February 2022, contains 15 more commodities.

Much of the increase in the new list is the result of splitting the rare earth elements and platinum group elements into individual entries rather than including them as “mineral groups.” In addition, the 2022 list of critical minerals adds nickel and zinc to the list while removing helium, potash, rhenium, and strontium.

Mineral	Example Uses	Net Import Reliance
Beryllium	Alloying agent in aerospace, defense industries	11%
Aluminum	Power lines, construction, electronics	13%
Zirconium	High-temparature ceramics production	25%
Palladium	Catalytic converters	40%
Germanium	Fiber optics, night vision applications	50%
Lithium	Rechargeable batteries	50%
Magnesium	Alloys, electronics	50%
Nickel	Stainless steel, rechargeable batteries	50%
Tungsten	Wear-resistant metals	50%
Barite	Hydrocarbon production	75%
Chromium	Stainless steel	75%
Tin	Coatings, alloys for steel	75%
Cobalt	Rechargeable batteries, superalloys	76%
Platinum	Catalytic converters	79%
Antimony	Lead-acid batteries, flame retardants	81%
Zinc	Metallurgy to produce galvanized steel	83%
Titanium	White pigment, metal alloys	88%
Bismuth	Medical, atomic research	94%
Tellurium	Solar cells, thermoelectric devices	95%
Vanadium	Alloying agent for iron and steel	96%
Arsenic	Semi-conductors, lumber preservatives, pesticides	100%
Cerium	Catalytic converters, ceramics, glass, metallurgy	100%
Cesium	Research, development	100%
Dysprosium	Data storage devices, lasers	100%
Erbium	Fiber optics, optical amplifiers, lasers	100%
Europium	Phosphors, nuclear control rods	100%
Fluorspar	Manufacture of aluminum, cement, steel, gasoline	100%
Gadolinium	Medical imaging, steelmaking	100%
Gallium	Integrated circuits, LEDs	100%
Graphite	Lubricants, batteries	100%
Holmium	Permanent magnets, nuclear control rods	100%
Indium	Liquid crystal display screens	100%
Lanthanum	Catalysts, ceramics, glass, polishing compounds	100%
Lutetium	Scintillators for medical imaging, cancer therapies	100%
Manganese	Steelmaking, batteries	100%
Neodymium	Rubber catalysts, medical, industrial lasers	100%
Niobium	Steel, superalloys	100%
Praseodymium	Permanent magnets, batteries, aerospace alloys	100%
Rubidium	Research, development in electronics	100%
Samarium	Cancer treatment, absorber in nuclear reactors	100%
Scandium	Alloys, ceramics, fuel cells	100%
Tantalum	Electronic components, superalloys	100%
Terbium	Permanent magnets, fiber optics, lasers	100%
Thulium	Metal alloys, lasers	100%
Ytterbium	Catalysts, scintillometers, lasers, metallurgy	100%
Yttrium	Ceramic, catalysts, lasers, metallurgy, phosphors	100%
Iridium	Coating of anodes for electrochemical processes	No data available
Rhodium	Catalytic converters, electrical components	No data available
Ruthenium	Electrical contacts, chip resistors in computers	No data available
Hafnium	Nuclear control rods, alloys	Net exporter

The challenge for the U.S. is that the local production of these raw materials is extremely limited.

For instance, in 2021 there was only one operating nickel mine in the country, the Eagle mine in Michigan. The facility ships its concentrates abroad for refining and is scheduled to close in 2025. Likewise, the country only hosted one lithium mine, the Silver Peak Mine in Nevada.

At the same time, most of the country’s supply of critical minerals depends on countries that have historically competed with America.

China’s Dominance in Minerals

Perhaps unsurprisingly, China is the single largest supply source of mineral commodities for the United States.

Cesium, a critical metal used in a wide range of manufacturing, is one example. There are only three pegmatite mines in the world that can produce cesium, and all were controlled by Chinese companies in 2021.

Furthermore, China refines nearly 90% of the world’s rare earths. Despite the name, these elements are abundant on the Earth’s crust and make up the majority of listed critical minerals. They are essential for a variety of products like EVs, advanced ceramics, computers, smartphones, wind turbines, monitors, and fiber optics.

After China, the next largest source of mineral commodities to the United States has been Canada, which provided the United States with 16 different elements in 2021.

The Rising Demand for Critical Minerals

As the world’s clean energy transitions gather pace, demand for critical minerals is expected to grow quickly.

According to the International Energy Association, the rise of low-carbon power generation is projected to triple mineral demand from this sector by 2040.

The shift to a sustainable economy is important, and consequently, securing the critical minerals necessary for it is just as vital.