Critical minerals: Technical and policy considerations - ME Feature Article

For the last few years, critical minerals have been in the news as policymakers and the media highlight the important role critical minerals play in all aspects of the U.S. economy, technology, infrastructure, manufacturing, energy systems and national defense. These discussions focus on how critical minerals are the foundational inputs to everything modern societies build and use. They even play a role in the foods we eat because some fertilizers consist of minerals like phosphates, potash and lime. Many experts predict that the global demand for lithium, copper, rare earth elements, graphite, nickel and other critical minerals will soar in the next decade as countries pursue electrification objectives, build artificial intelligence (AI) data centers that must have massive amounts of always available electricity, and develop high-tech defense equipment built with rare earth magnets and other critical minerals (International Energy Agency, 2025). The U.S. Congress defined minerals for the first time in the National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980, stating: “The term “materials” means substances, including minerals, of current or potential use that will be needed to supply the industrial, military, and essential civilian needs of the United States in the production of goods or services, including those which are primarily imported or for which there is a prospect of shortages or uncertain supply, or which present opportunities in terms of new physical properties, use, recycling, disposal or substitution, with the exclusion of food and of energy fuels used as such.” (30 U.S.C. § 1601(b)(2)) Although most critical “minerals” are actually metallic elements rather than minerals, this article will refer to them as “minerals” to conform to the congressional definition and the current critical minerals dialogue. Forty years later, Congress enacted the Energy Act of 2020, which amended the 1980 Act to add the following definition for critical minerals: “The term ‘‘critical mineral’’ means any mineral, element, substance, or material designated as critical by the Secretary under section 7002(c) of the Energy Act of 2020.” (30 U.S.C. 1601(2)(b)(1)) The Energy Act of 2020 directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), to identify critical minerals, to develop a Critical Minerals List (CML), and to update the CML at least every three years or more frequently if determined necessary by the Secretary. The USGS published the first CML in February 2022 (USGS, 2022). The 2022 CML identified 50 minerals critical to the U.S. economy and national security. In November 2025, the USGS finalized its 2025 CML (USGS, 2025a, 2025b) to include 60 minerals (Fig. 1), stating: “Critical minerals underpin industries worth trillions of dollars, and import dependence puts key sectors at risk.” In developing the CML, Section 1606(c) of the Energy Act of 2022 directs the USGS to include minerals that: 1. Are essential to the economic or national security of the United States. 2. The supply chain of which is vulnerable to disruption (including restrictions associated with foreign political risk, abrupt demand growth, military conflict, violent unrest, anticompetitive or protectionist behaviors, and other risks throughout the supply chain). 3. Serve an essential function in the manufacturing of a product (including energy technology, defense, currency, agriculture, consumer electronics and health care-related applications), the absence of which would have significant consequences for the economic or national security of the United States. This law also requires the Secretary to consult with the Secretaries of Defense, Commerce, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Energy and the U.S. Trade Representative in designating minerals, elements, substances and materials as critical.