WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of the Interior has unveiled the final 2025 List of Critical Minerals, a sweeping federal blueprint identifying 60 minerals deemed essential to America’s economy and national security — and at risk from foreign supply disruptions. The move, officials said, marks a major milestone in the Trump administration’s effort to restore U.S. mineral independence and reduce reliance on adversarial nations.
The list, developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), adds 10 new minerals, including copper, silver, uranium, and phosphate, reflecting updated data and supply chain analysis. Officials said the list will serve as a strategic roadmap for rebuilding domestic mining, expanding processing capacity, and supporting industries ranging from defense and energy to advanced technology manufacturing.
“In 2017, President Trump set a goal of first identifying and then securing the mineral resources needed to bolster America’s economy and national security,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. “The 2025 List of Critical Minerals provides a clear, data-driven roadmap to reduce our dependence on foreign adversaries, expand domestic production, and unleash American innovation.”
The updated list — the third since Trump’s 2017 executive order on mineral security — underscores the growing recognition that control over mineral supply chains has become a key battleground in global geopolitics. In 2024, the United States imported 80 percent of its rare earth elements, which are indispensable for technologies such as smartphones, semiconductors, and advanced weapons systems.
The administration has launched new investments in domestic mining and secured access to key resources through allied nations, including Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand. Meanwhile, the USGS is mapping new mineral deposits across the country to better assess their economic viability.
“This is the most comprehensive, science-based assessment yet of the minerals our nation relies on,” said Ned Mamula, director of the USGS. “Critical minerals underpin industries worth trillions of dollars, and import dependence puts key sectors at risk. This work helps secure the materials needed for U.S. economic growth and technological leadership.”
Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Andrea Travnicek said the 2025 List was developed through a broad interagency process, incorporating feedback from the Departments of Energy, Agriculture, and War, as well as industry and the public. “The Energy Act President Trump signed in 2020 ensures we build this list with real-world expertise,” Travnicek said. “The 2025 List reflects the minerals necessary to safeguard America’s food, energy, defense, and economic resilience.”
Among the minerals newly designated as critical are boron, used in steel and glassmaking; rhenium, vital to jet engine alloys; potash and phosphate, essential to fertilizers; and uranium, the backbone of nuclear power. Each of the 60 minerals, from lithium and nickel to titanium and zinc, supports one or more of the 230 sectors of the U.S. economy analyzed by USGS scientists.
The Energy Act of 2020 requires the Department of the Interior to update the Critical Minerals List every three years — or sooner as market conditions evolve. Officials said the 2025 edition is more dynamic and data-driven than prior iterations, designed to adapt to shifting global demand and supply chain risks.
The Biden-era reliance on imported minerals, Burgum noted, left the nation vulnerable to supply shocks from countries such as China, which dominates global refining capacity for many rare earth elements. The new list, he said, represents “a decisive step toward ensuring that the raw materials driving our energy, defense, and technology industries are sourced here in the United States — where they belong.”
With the release of the 2025 List, the U.S. Geological Survey has positioned the United States to reassert control over its mineral destiny — a critical pillar, officials say, for sustaining economic growth and national security in a rapidly changing world.
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