Interior Department releases final 2025 List of Critical Minerals

The Department of the Interior, through the U.S. Geological Survey, today published the final 2025 List of Critical Minerals, outlining 60 minerals vital to the U.S. economy and national security that face potential risks from disrupted supply chains. 

“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.  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,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “By working with the mineral industry and state partners, we are ensuring that the minerals powering our energy, defense, and technology supply chains are mined and processed in the United States, which is becoming a mineral powerhouse once again.” 

The U.S. Geological Survey developed the draft 2025 List using updated methods to assess how disruptions in mineral supply could affect the U.S. economy and national security. The final List adds 10 new minerals—boron, copper, lead, metallurgical coal, phosphate, potash, rhenium, silicon, silver, and uranium—based on new data, public feedback and interagency recommendations.  

“USGS mineral science is a national asset—and the Energy Act President Trump signed in 2020 directs us to incorporate expertise from the public and from agencies outside the Department of the Interior when developing this List,” said Andrea Travnicek, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science. “Industry, the public and other agencies including the Departments of Agriculture, Energy and War helped to ensure the 2025 List of Critical Minerals includes the minerals needed to protect the nation's food and energy supplies as well as defense and the economy as a whole.”  

The 2025 List marks the third List since the effort began under a 2017 Executive Order (EO 13817) directing federal agencies to strengthen mineral security. The Energy Act of 2020 requires the List to be reviewed at least every three years to reflect new data and changing supply conditions. Accordingly, the List is not static; it is intended to be dynamic and will be updated at least every two years to reflect evolving circumstances.  

Today’s publication highlights the importance of rare earth elements, a subset of critical minerals whose supply disruption would impose the highest cost on the U.S. economy, which are essential to technologies like smartphones, hard drives, and advanced defense systems. In 2024, the U.S. imported 80% of the rare earth elements it used. This year, the Trump administration has taken decisive steps to bolster our supply chains: investing in U.S. production and securing access through partners in Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand. Meanwhile, the USGS is mapping new domestic deposits and advancing the science to better understand how geology influences their quality, size, and viability for extraction.  

“This is the most comprehensive, science-based assessment yet of the minerals our nation relies on,” said Ned Mamula, USGS director. “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.”