Critical Minerals

What are critical minerals?

"Critical minerals" is a regulatory designation, not a chemistry category. A mineral is "critical" if (1) it has high economic importance to a national industrial base and (2) its supply is at material risk of disruption. Two authoritative lists matter: the USGS 2025 List of Critical Minerals (60 minerals, published Nov 2025, mandated by the US Energy Act of 2020 and the Inflation Reduction Act) and the EU Critical Raw Materials Act 2023 (34 CRMs + 16 higher-priority Strategic Raw Materials, in force as Regulation 2024/1252 since May 2024). Both lists are reviewed every 3 years.

How critical minerals are priced

No single benchmark covers the class. Roughly half the 60 USGS critical minerals have regulated futures (LME nickel/copper/aluminium/tin/zinc, NYMEX platinum/palladium, COMEX gold/silver, SHFE/GFEX China contracts, NYMEX/CME uranium). The rest are priced by benchmark administrators under UK/EU BMR regulation: Fastmarkets, Argus Media, S&P Global Platts, and the Chinese domestic spot service SMM (Shanghai Metals Market). For the smallest-volume critical minerals (beryllium, rhenium, hafnium) most sales are bilateral long-term contracts and no continuous public price exists.

Where critical minerals come from

Supply concentration is the defining characteristic of the class. The USGS analysis behind the 2025 list flags 35 of the 60 minerals where a single country supplies >50% of world mine output. China dominates rare earths (~70% mine + ~90% refining), gallium (~98%), germanium (~60%), graphite (~60%), tungsten (~80%), antimony (~50%), magnesium (~85%), bismuth (~75%) and scandium (~60%). DR Congo dominates cobalt (~75%). South Africa dominates PGMs (~70%) and manganese (~35%). Indonesia dominates nickel (~50%) and tin (~50%). Full per-metal breakdowns: USGS MCS 2026.

Who produces critical minerals

No vertically integrated producer exists for the full critical-minerals supply chain. Major specialised producers by sub-segment: rare earths — China Northern Rare Earth, Lynas Rare Earths (Australia/Malaysia), MP Materials (US); PGMs — Anglo American Platinum, Impala, Sibanye-Stillwater, Norilsk Nickel; lithium — Albemarle, SQM, Ganfeng, Tianqi; cobalt — Glencore, CMOC; tungsten — China Tungsten & Hightech, Almonty Industries; tantalum — Global Advanced Metals (US), AMG, plus artisanal sources from DRC/Rwanda; uranium — Kazatomprom, Cameco, Orano.

What critical minerals are used for

Critical minerals are the inputs to four strategic industries that the US and EU classify as "national-security-relevant":

Energy transition — Li, Co, Ni, Mn, graphite (batteries); Cu, Al (grid); REE-Nd-Pr-Tb-Dy (wind/EV magnets); Pt/Ir (electrolysers); Ag/Te/Ga/Ge (solar PV).
Defence — Be (warheads, aircraft), Re (jet superalloys), Hf (nuclear control rods), Ta (capacitors), W (armour-piercing rounds), REE-Sm-Co (precision-guided munitions).
Semiconductors & advanced electronics — Ga (RF chips), Ge (fibre optics), In (touchscreens, ITO), Te (CdTe solar), high-purity Cu/W/Co (chip interconnects).
Aerospace — Ti, Ni, Co (superalloys), Sc (Al-Sc alloys for airframes), Hf, Re.

Key facts about critical minerals supply

USGS 2025 list (60 minerals): Aluminium, Antimony, Arsenic, Barite, Beryllium, Bismuth, Boron, Cerium*, Cesium, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Dysprosium*, Erbium*, Europium*, Fluorspar, Gadolinium*, Gallium, Germanium, Graphite, Hafnium, Holmium*, Indium, Iridium, Lanthanum*, Lead, Lithium, Lutetium*, Magnesium, Manganese, Metallurgical Coal, Neodymium*, Nickel, Niobium, Palladium, Phosphate, Platinum, Potash, Praseodymium*, Rhenium, Rhodium, Rubidium, Ruthenium, Samarium*, Scandium, Silicon, Silver, Tantalum, Tellurium, Terbium*, Thulium*, Tin, Titanium, Tungsten, Uranium, Vanadium, Ytterbium*, Yttrium*, Zinc, Zirconium. (* = rare earth element)
EU CRM Act 2023: 34 critical raw materials including 16 higher-priority Strategic Raw Materials (Li, Co, Cu, Ga, Ge, Mg, Mn battery-grade, Ni battery-grade, REE-magnets, Si metal, Ti metal, W, PGMs, graphite battery-grade, B metallurgy, Bi).
Source: USGS, EU RMIS.

Lithium Li View page → Cobalt Co View page → Nickel Ni View page → Manganese Mn View page → Graphite C View page → REE (group) REE View page → PGM (group) PGM View page → Gallium Ga View page → Germanium Ge View page → Indium In View page → Tellurium Te View page → Antimony Sb View page → Bismuth Bi View page → Tungsten W View page → Molybdenum Mo View page → Vanadium V View page → Chromium Cr View page → Titanium Ti View page → Magnesium Mg View page → Niobium Nb View page → Tantalum Ta View page → Hafnium Hf View page → Zirconium Zr View page → Rhenium Re View page → Beryllium Be View page → Scandium Sc View page → Uranium U View page →

USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — annual mine production and reserves by country for all individual metals on this page.
USGS 2025 List of Critical Minerals — official US designation (60 minerals, published November 2025).
EU Critical Raw Materials Act 2023 — Regulation 2024/1252, in force since 23 May 2024 (34 CRMs + 16 Strategic Raw Materials).
London Metal Exchange (LME), LBMA, LPPM, SHFE — regulated exchange settlement prices.
Fastmarkets, Argus Media, S&P Global Platts — UK/EU BMR-regulated benchmark administrators.
Minor Metals Trade Association (MMTA), IEA Critical Minerals.

Editorial principle: every figure on TSM Hub group pages is sourced from an official primary publication (USGS, EU, LME, LBMA, T.I.C., Minamata Convention, JM/Heraeus). No Wikipedia or aggregator citations.

All Metals (59 individual pages)

Copper Aluminium Nickel Zinc Lead Tin Gold Silver Platinum Palladium Rhodium Ruthenium Iridium Osmium PGM (group) Lithium Cobalt Graphite Manganese Tungsten Vanadium Molybdenum Chromium Antimony Gallium Germanium Indium Tellurium Selenium Bismuth Cadmium Rhenium Hafnium Niobium Tantalum Zirconium Beryllium Mercury Iron Ore Titanium Magnesium Uranium REE (group) Neodymium Praseodymium Dysprosium Terbium Lanthanum Cerium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Yttrium Scandium

About critical minerals