USGS Publishes List of 50 Critical Minerals
Strategic Research Institute
Published on :
04 Mar, 2022, 5:30 am
The United States Geological Survey has revealed an updated list of 50 critical minerals that the North American country needs for economic and national security. Replacing the initial 2018 version, the new list has added 15 new minerals, while removing four others. Most of the new additions come from differentiating specific rare earth elements and platinum group elements as individual entries rather than grouping the commodities. Base metals nickel and zinc are also new entries on the list. The four minerals no longer making the critical list include helium, potash, rhenium and strontium.
The US Energy Act of 2020 also determines the classification of a critical mineral by its essential function in the manufacturing of a product, the absence of which would have significant consequences.
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Minerals in alphabetical order
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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 defence 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, fibre 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 galvanised steel
Zirconium, used in the high-temperature ceramics and corrosion-resistant alloys