The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) officially released the 2025 Critical Minerals List on November 6, expanding the roster to 60 minerals in a significant update that underscores the nation’s intensifying focus on supply chain security for the energy transition and national defense.
The new list adds 10 minerals compared to the 2022 version, with the inclusion of copper and silver marking a pivotal recognition of their foundational role in a wide array of electrical, electronic, and clean energy technologies. Their designation formally classifies them as “critical” to U.S. economic and national security.
Other notable additions to the list include uranium, metallurgical coal, potash, rhenium, silicon, and lead.
In the September edition of the METALS 100 interview, Galen McNamara, CEO & Director of Silver47 Exploration Corp. (TSXV: AGA, OTCQB: AAGAF), detailed the company’s latest developments and upcoming plans. Silver47 Exploration is a mineral exploration company focused on uncovering and developing silver-rich deposits in North America, with 246 Moz AgEq resources. Additionally, the company’s 2025 program at the Adams Plateau silver-zinc-copper-gold-lead project in British Columbia is nearing completion.
The USGS emphasized that the revised list was not a simple selection but the product of a sophisticated, internally developed economic model. This model simulated the potential impacts of foreign supply disruptions across 84 minerals and 402 industries under more than 1,200 scenarios. The agency stated the goal was to provide policymakers with a “more realistic and usable” assessment framework.
The Critical Minerals List plays a central role in shaping U.S. domestic policy, directly serving several key national strategies:
The list’s update comes immediately on the heels of a resolved trade dispute between the U.S. and China concerning rare earth elements. Notably, rare earths occupy 15 spots on the USGS list, accounting for a quarter of all entries.
Analysts point out that while seeking a truce with China—the dominant player in many critical mineral supply chains—the U.S. is simultaneously accelerating efforts to formally list more strategic resources like copper and silver. This dual approach highlights a long-term strategic intent to reduce geopolitical dependencies and comprehensively strengthen the resilience of its domestic resource base.
2025 List of Critical Minerals
The U.S. Geological Survey’s 2025 list includes 60 minerals deemed critical to the nation’s economic and national security. The table below details each mineral and its primary applications.
| Mineral | Key Applications |
| Aluminum | Used in almost all sectors of the economy |
| Antimony | Used in lead-acid batteries and flame retardants |
| Arsenic | Used in semiconductors |
| Barite | Used in oil and gas drilling and medical imaging |
| Beryllium | Used to manufacture metal alloys for aerospace and defense |
| Bismuth | Used in nontoxic metals, atomic research, and some medical applications |
| Boron | Used to harden steel and glass and in nuclear energy |
| Cerium | Used in catalytic converters, ceramics, glass, metallurgy, and polishing |
| Cesium | Used in atomic clocks for global positioning systems (GPS) |
| Chromium | Used in stainless steel |
| Cobalt | Used in batteries and metal alloys for extreme temperatures |
| Copper | Used widely in wiring and cables |
| 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 to make synthetic materials, plastics, iron and steel, ceramics, glass, and in refineries |
| Gadolinium | Used in medical imaging, permanent magnets, and steel |
| Gallium | Used in semiconductors |
| Germanium | Used in fiber optics, semiconductors, and night vision |
| Graphite | Used in lubricants, batteries, and fuel cells |
| Hafnium | Used in nuclear control rods, semiconductors, and aerospace |
| Holmium | Used in permanent magnets, nuclear control rods, and lasers |
| Indium | Used in flat-panel displays and touchscreens |
| Iridium | Used for electrochemical processes and as a chemical catalyst |
| Lanthanum | Used in chemical catalysts, metallurgy, and batteries |
| Lead | Used in batteries, ammunition, glass and ceramics production |
| Lithium | Used in rechargeable batteries |
| Lutetium | Used for medical imaging, electronics, and some cancer therapies |
| Magnesium | Used in metal alloys for aerospace, automotive, and electronics industries |
| Manganese | Used in steel production and batteries |
| Metallurgical coal | Used in steel production |
| Neodymium | Used in permanent magnets, medical and industrial lasers, and in rubber production |
| Nickel | Used to make high-strength steel and rechargeable batteries |
| Niobium | Used to strengthen steel |
| Palladium | Used in catalytic converters, electronics, and as a chemical catalyst |
| Phosphate | Used in fertilizers |
| Platinum | Used in catalytic converters, aerospace alloys, and chemical refining |
| Potash | Used in most fertilizers |
| Praseodymium | Used in permanent magnets, batteries, aerospace metal alloys, ceramics, and colorants |
| Rhenium | Used in high-performance jet engines and gas turbines |
| Rhodium | Used in catalytic converters, electrical components, and as a chemical catalyst |
| Rubidium | Used in atomic clocks for GPS, data network syncing, and R&D |
| Ruthenium | Used as catalysts, as well as electrical contacts and chip resistors in computers |
| Samarium | Used in permanent magnets, in nuclear reactors, and in cancer treatments |
| Scandium | Used to strengthen metal alloys, in fuel cells, and in high-intensity lighting |
| Silicon | Used in silicon wafers fundamental to semiconductors |
| Silver | Used in electrical circuits, batteries, solar cells, and anti-bacterial medical instruments |
| Tantalum | Used in materials and electronic components for high temperatures and harsh environments |
| Tellurium | Used in solar cells, to strengthen steel and copper, and in rubber, microchips and lasers |
| Terbium | Used in permanent magnets, fiber optics, lasers, and solid-state devices |
| Thulium | Used in lasers, x-ray devices, and metal alloys for industrial products and nuclear reactors |
| Tin | Used for food and beverage cans, circuit board components and corrosion-resistant coatings |
| Titanium | Used as a white pigment and in metal alloys for airplanes, spacecraft and armor |
| Tungsten | Primarily used to make wear-resistant metals for jet engines, ammunition, and mining equipment |
| Uranium | Used as a nuclear fuel and in medical applications |
| Vanadium | Used to strengthen iron and steel |
| Ytterbium | Used for catalysts, lasers, and metallurgy |
| Yttrium | Used in lighting and display technologies and in high-performance metal alloys |
| Zinc | Used as a coating to protect iron and steel from rust and corrosion |
| Zirconium | Used in nuclear reactors, aerospace heat shields and engine components |
Note: Minerals in bold are new additions to the 2025 list.
