The USA critical minerals list now runs to 60 commodities, after the US Geological Survey added copper, silver, lead, boron, phosphate, potash, rhenium, metallurgical coal, silicon, and uranium in its final 2025 update. The list, maintained jointly by USGS and the Department of Energy under the Energy Act of 2020, drives federal procurement, permitting priority, and the stockpiling decisions now reshaping Washington’s mineral strategy.
What’s on the 2025 list
The USGS 2025 Final List of Critical Minerals includes all 17 rare earth elements alongside aluminum, antimony, cobalt, copper, gallium, germanium, graphite, lithium, manganese, nickel, niobium, platinum-group metals, tantalum, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, and zinc, among others. A separate Department of Energy assessment narrows this to an “Electric Eighteen” — materials judged critical specifically for clean energy technology, including dysprosium, neodymium, praseodymium, terbium, and silicon carbide.
Uranium’s 2025 addition is notable: it had previously been excluded under Section 7002(a) of the Energy Act, which restricts the list to non-fuel materials, but its dual role in defence and energy applications pushed USGS to fold it in alongside copper and silver — both newly listed amid surging demand from grid and defence applications.
Domestic supply gaps
For 12 of the listed minerals, the US currently relies entirely on imports, and import dependence exceeds 50% for roughly half the full list. China remains the dominant processing chokepoint for rare earths, gallium, and germanium specifically — see CMN’s China critical minerals hub for the production side of that relationship, and China’s export control regime for how Beijing has used that position. The Pentagon’s own supply chain exposure is covered in detail on Pentagon Critical Minerals: Inside the DoD Strategy.
Domestic production is concentrated in a handful of operating mines and a thin processing base: MP Materials’ Mountain Pass rare earth mine in California, Albemarle’s lithium operations, and a small but growing cluster of recycling and reprocessing plants — including projects recovering cobalt and gallium from legacy mine tailings, detailed on Mine Tailings Cobalt: The Hidden US Supply.
The onshoring and stockpiling push
Washington’s response has moved beyond the list itself into direct industrial policy. The US Critical Minerals Strategy hub covers the IRA, CHIPS Act, and FEOC provisions shaping which projects qualify for federal support, while the DOE’s Industrial Technical Capability Consortium is funding the “valley of death” gap between pilot-scale processing and commercial production.
The Army has struck deals to build critical minerals processing plants directly on military bases, and a proposed $2.5 billion strategic stockpile — separate from the existing Defense Logistics Agency reserve — aims to give Washington pricing leverage against future Chinese export restrictions. The downstream processing bottleneck specifically is covered in Critical Minerals Processing: The US Supply Chain Gap.
Diplomatic supply agreements
Rather than relying solely on domestic mining, the US has signed a run of bilateral minerals agreements through 2026: a critical minerals and rare earths declaration with Chile in March, a memorandum of understanding with the UK on project financing in February, a partnership with the EU on supply chain security in April, and a framework deal with India covering nickel, cobalt, lithium, aluminium, and zinc — see India US Critical Minerals: Framework Deal Signed 2026 for the agreement’s specific terms.
Key minerals to watch
| Mineral | 2025 List Status | US Import Reliance |
|---|---|---|
| Lithium | Critical — Electric Eighteen | High; Albemarle and emerging projects (Arkansas, Nevada) narrowing the gap |
| Rare earths (REEs) | Critical — all 17 listed | Very high; Mountain Pass is the sole significant domestic mine |
| Copper | New for 2025 | Moderate; demand surging from grid and AI data centre buildout |
| Gallium / Germanium | Critical | Near-total import reliance; China dominant supplier |
| Cobalt | Critical — Electric Eighteen | High; tailings reprocessing emerging as a domestic source |
Where US critical minerals policy goes next
The Department of the Interior reviews the list at least biannually, so further additions are likely as demand shifts — physical AI infrastructure and data centre buildout are already pushing copper and silicon up the priority list. Watch for the next USGS review alongside continued Army base onshoring announcements and progress on the proposed federal stockpile, expected through the second half of 2026.
How many minerals are on the official USA critical minerals list?
The 2025 USGS Final List of Critical Minerals names 60 commodities, up from 50 in the prior 2022 list, after the addition of copper, silver, lead, boron, phosphate, potash, rhenium, metallurgical coal, silicon, and uranium.
Who decides what counts as a critical mineral in the US?
The US Geological Survey, under the Department of the Interior, determines the list in coordination with the Department of Energy and the National Science and Technology Council, under authority granted by the Energy Act of 2020.
Why was copper added to the critical minerals list in 2025?
Surging demand from grid infrastructure, AI data centres, and electrification pushed USGS to add copper alongside silver in the 2025 update, reflecting tightening supply risk rather than scarcity alone.
Which critical minerals does the US import almost entirely?
The US relies on imports for the full national requirement of around 12 listed minerals, with gallium, germanium, and several rare earth elements among the most import-dependent due to China’s dominance in processing.
What is the US doing to reduce reliance on Chinese mineral processing?
Current measures include onshoring processing plants on military bases, a proposed $2.5 billion strategic stockpile, and bilateral supply agreements with Chile, the UK, the EU, and India.
