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The Energy Act of 2020 (Section 7002, 30 U.S.C. § 1606) requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the USGS Director, to publish a list of minerals designated as "critical" — defined as non-fuel minerals or mineral materials essential to the economic or national security of the United States and characterised by a supply chain vulnerable to disruption. The statute mandates review at least every three years. The 2025 list is the third iteration: the first was published in 2018 (35 minerals), the second in 2022 (50 minerals), and the 2025 final expands to 60.
The USGS employed an updated supply-chain disruption methodology — documented in USGS Open-File Report 2025-1047 — that models economic impact under supply-disruption scenarios using domestic production, import reliance, end-use criticality weighting, and geopolitical concentration risk. A draft list was published in August 2025 (Federal Register 2025-16311) for public comment; the final list incorporates interagency review (DOE, DOD, USTR, Commerce) and processed public submissions before finalisation on 6 November 2025.
commodity in the US economy. Signals a shift in posture directly aligned with Trump EO 14257 (March 2025 Section 232 copper investigation) and elevated Freeport-McMoRan / Rio Tinto Resolution Copper / Hudbay / Antofagasta exposure to DPA Title III award eligibility.
CHIPS-and-Science Act funding and the Trump-2 Section 232 semiconductor investigation; creates new 45X credit eligibility for domestic silicon producers.
Availability Program. Elevates Cameco (CCO), Energy Fuels (UUUU), and Centrus Energy (LEU).
NDRC phosphate export consensus and Mosaic (MOS) / Nutrien (NTR) policy tailwinds.
Wheaton Precious Metals, Pan American Silver (PAAS), and Hecla Mining (HL).
The 2025 designation is the legal predicate for:
1. DPA Title III (Defense Production Act) — DOD Industrial Base Analysis & Sustainment award eligibility for processing projects; the March 2025 EO 14241 delegated these authorities to the DFC CEO with reference to the critical minerals list. 2. DOE LPO Title 17 / ATVM loan eligibility — processing projects for designated minerals qualify for concessional financing under the Loan Programs Office. 3. IRA Section 45X (26 U.S.C. § 45X(c)(6)) — Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit for "applicable critical minerals" now covers all 60 designees; the copper and silicon additions are particularly material for domestic miners and photovoltaic upstream. 4. Section 30D FEOC — Foreign Entity of Concern battery-critical-mineral eligibility determinations reference the critical minerals list for content tracing; the additions expand FEOC scrutiny to copper, silicon, and potash upstream. 5. BIS EAR (15 CFR Part 730) — licensing critical-mineral-related EAR-controlled commodities; newly designated minerals may trigger enhanced licensing review under the NS/AT columns. 6. Section 232 (19 U.S.C. § 1862) — the critical minerals designation is the standard predicate for Section 232 national-security trade investigations; copper (EO 14257) and silicon (semiconductor investigation) are already active. 7. CFIUS (31 CFR § 800.215) — critical-technology and critical-infrastructure triggers; the addition of copper, silicon, and uranium expands the perimeter of CFIUS mandatory-filing obligations for foreign acquisitions of domestic producers.
~12 commodity categories relative to the 2022 list.
Rio Tinto Resolution Copper domestic-production investments; strengthens the case for accelerated US permitting (cf. Resolution Copper / Oak Flat EIS track).
silicon producers, directly relevant to solar-upstream supply-chain reshoring (FSLR, REC Silicon).
escalates DOE HALEU Availability Program contract eligibility for Centrus (LEU) and Energy Fuels (UUUU).
China NDRC consensus) and create a formal US-policy anchor for domestic fertilizer supply-chain protection; material for Mosaic (MOS) and Nutrien (NTR).
2026-02-02-us-exim-strategic-critical-minerals-reserve-project-vault (USD 12bn reserve programme explicitly stockpiling the 60-mineral list).
minerals as Section 232 investigations (copper, semiconductors) resolve into policy instruments.
interpretations for newly added minerals (copper cathode vs. concentrate boundary issue).
in the context of the Section 232 semiconductor investigation.
+ uranium additions to the critical-technology perimeter.