U.S. Geological Survey Releases 2022 List of Critical Minerals

The 2022 list of critical minerals was determined using the most up-to-date scientific methods to evaluate mineral criticality. The new list contains 15 more commodities compared to the nation’s first list of critical minerals created in 2018. 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.

“Critical minerals play a significant role in our national security, economy, renewable energy development and infrastructure,” said Tanya Trujillo, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science. “USGS data collection and analysis scans the horizon for emerging issues in crucial supply chains, and every three years identifies the nation’s current vulnerabilities to potential disruptions.”

The new list was created based on directives from the Energy Act of 2020, which indicates that at least every three years, the Department of the Interior must review and update the list of critical minerals, update the methodology used to identify potential critical minerals, take interagency feedback and public comment through the Federal Register, and ultimately finalize the list of critical minerals.

The Energy Act of 2020 defines a “critical mineral” as a non-fuel mineral or mineral material essential to the economic or national security of the U.S. and which has a supply chain vulnerable to disruption. Critical minerals are also characterized as serving an essential function in the manufacturing of a product, the absence of which would have significant consequences for the economy or national security.

The 2022 list of critical minerals, while “final,” is not intended as a permanent designation of mineral criticality but will be a dynamic list updated periodically to represent current data on supply, demand, the concentration of production, and current policy priorities.

“Mineral criticality is not static, but changes over time,” said Steven M. Fortier, USGS National Minerals Information Center director. “The 2022 list of critical minerals was created using the most recent available data for non-fuel mineral commodities. However, we’re always analyzing mineral markets and developing new methods to determine the various and evolving critical mineral supply chain risks.”

Prior to publishing the 2022 list of critical minerals, the USGS completed a thorough review of more than 1,000 comments received from the public, stakeholders and local and state officials. These comments were received in response to the draft critical minerals list the USGS released for public comment in November 2021.

“The USGS appreciates the input we received from the public and stakeholders,” Fortier said. “In addition to reviewing each comment for the current methodology, we are also identifying opportunities to include some of the suggestions we received in the next update of the critical minerals list methodology.”

The list of critical minerals will be the focus of USGS research quantifying critical mineral potential within the U.S. In President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the USGS received funding for its Earth Mapping Resource Initiative, which will update the Nation’s mapping of these minerals, including those still in the ground and those present in mine wastes.

The Energy Act of 2020 directed the USGS to update the list of critical minerals, and the list is timely to provide guidance for use of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds, both for the USGS and other agencies.

The 2022 list of critical minerals includes the following — click a mineral’s name to find relevant statistics and publications:

Aluminum, used in almost all sectors of the economy
Antimony, used in lead-acid batteries and flame retardants
Arsenic, used in semi-conductors
Barite, used in hydrocarbon production.
Beryllium, used as an alloying agent in aerospace and defense industries
Bismuth, used in medical and atomic research
Cerium, used in catalytic converters, ceramics, glass, metallurgy, and polishing compounds
Cesium, used in research and development
Chromium, used primarily in stainless steel and other alloys
Cobalt, used in rechargeable batteries and superalloys
Dysprosium, used in permanent magnets, data storage devices, and lasers
Erbium, used in fiber optics, optical amplifiers, lasers, and glass colorants
Europium, used in phosphors and nuclear control rods
Fluorspar, used in the manufacture of aluminum, cement, steel, gasoline, and fluorine chemicals
Gadolinium, used in medical imaging, permanent magnets, and steelmaking
Gallium, used for integrated circuits and optical devices like LEDs
Germanium, used for fiber optics and night vision applications
Graphite , used for lubricants, batteries, and fuel cells
Hafnium, used for nuclear control rods, alloys, and high-temperature ceramics
Holmium, used in permanent magnets, nuclear control rods, and lasers
Indium, used in liquid crystal display screens
Iridium, used as coating of anodes for electrochemical processes and as a chemical catalyst
Lanthanum, used to produce catalysts, ceramics, glass, polishing compounds, metallurgy, and batteries
Lithium, used for rechargeable batteries
Lutetium, used in scintillators for medical imaging, electronics, and some cancer therapies
Magnesium, used as an alloy and for reducing metals
Manganese, used in steelmaking and batteries
Neodymium, used in permanent magnets, rubber catalysts, and in medical and industrial lasers
Nickel, used to make stainless steel, superalloys, and rechargeable batteries
Niobium, used mostly in steel and superalloys
Palladium, used in catalytic converters and as a catalyst agent
Platinum, used in catalytic converters
Praseodymium, used in permanent magnets, batteries, aerospace alloys, ceramics, and colorants
Rhodium, used in catalytic converters, electrical components, and as a catalyst
Rubidium, used for research and development in electronics
Ruthenium, used as catalysts, as well as electrical contacts and chip resistors in computers
Samarium, used in permanent magnets, as an absorber in nuclear reactors, and in cancer treatments
Scandium, used for alloys, ceramics, and fuel cells
Tantalum, used in electronic components, mostly capacitors and in superalloys
Tellurium, used in solar cells, thermoelectric devices, and as alloying additive
Terbium, used in permanent magnets, fiber optics, lasers, and solid-state devices
Thulium, used in various metal alloys and in lasers
Tin, used as protective coatings and alloys for steel
Titanium, used as a white pigment or metal alloys
Tungsten, primarily used to make wear-resistant metals
Vanadium, primarily used as alloying agent for iron and steel
Ytterbium, used for catalysts, scintillometers, lasers, and metallurgy
Yttrium, used for ceramic, catalysts, lasers, metallurgy, and phosphors
Zinc, primarily used in metallurgy to produce galvanized steel
Zirconium, used in the high-temperature ceramics and corrosion-resistant alloys.