Updated 2025 Critical Minerals List from the USGS

The recent expansion of the U.S. Geological Survey’s List of Critical Minerals marks a pivotal shift in U.S. resource strategy. By adding ten new minerals, copper, silver, boron, lead, phosphate, silicon, rhenium, metallurgical coal, potash, and uranium, the U.S. signals that supply chain resilience, manufacturing essential inputs, and national defense needs are now driving mineral policy.

This update comes as global demand for advanced technologies and energy systems needed for high-tech manufacturing intensifies, elevating minerals whose absence could disrupt economic or national security functions. The 2025 list follows the three-year cycle mandated by the Energy Act of 2020, under which the USGS assesses minerals that are essential to the U.S. economy, have vulnerable supply chains, and serve vital functions in manufacturing.

In this article, based upon USGS reports, announcements from the Trump administration, and briefs from international agencies, I summarize the newly included minerals, their primary industrial, commercial, and defense uses, and the potential reasons for their inclusion.

Copper

Copper’s addition to the 2025 List of Critical Minerals reflects its importance in electrical systems, increased electricity consumption driven by artificial intelligence and manufacturing growth, and industrial applications (USGS, https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/copper-statistics-and-information).