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Critical Minerals
Home > Topics > Critical Minerals
Critical minerals are non-fuel metallic or non-metallic elements essential to economic or national security, featuring supply chains highly vulnerable to disruption. Prominent examples include lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, cooper, and rare earth elements, which power modern electronics, defense systems, and clean energy transitions.
References
Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026, International Energy Agency, July 16, 2026, PDF, 372 pages. https://www.iea.org/reports/global-critical-minerals-outlook-2026
What is a critical mineral?, U.S. Geological Survey
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-a-critical-mineral
Critical Minerals Explained: Why They Matter for
Geopolitics, Clean Energy, and Tech, by Chaitanya Gupta,
Belfer Center Harvard University, October 30, 2025.
https://www.belfercenter.org/explainer-what-are-critical-minerals
CRS Report, Mining for Critical Minerals on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf: Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service, CRS R48302, updated July 2, 2026, PDF, 33 pages. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48302
GAO Report, Critical Minerals: Reducing U.S. Import
Reliance with Subsitution and Recycling Technologies,
GAO-26-108687, July 22, 2026, PDF, 39 pages.
https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108687
News Articles
July 23, 2026, "Peace Through Secure Supply Chains", Military Times. Peter Navarro, White House Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing, writes about the importanace of the Executive Order issued in July 2026 on critical minerals.
October 8, 2025, "The Critical Minerals Conundrum: What You Should Know", by Serena Li and Ke Wang, Insights, World Resources Institute.
U.S. Government Announcements
August 24, 2026, press release by the Department of Defense about the $750 million investment to secure critical rare-earth elements from the Serre Verde Pela Ema Project in central Brazil.
August 7, 2026, press release by the Department of Defense about the $400 million loan to Sunrise Energy Metals to expand scandium mining operations.
August 7, 2026, press release by the Department of Defense about the $1.4 billion loan to Sila Nanotechnologies to enhance American battery production.
August 7, 2026, press release by the Department of Defense about the $85.5 million agreement with Strategic Bauxite USA to secure the critical refractory grade bauxite supply chain.
August 7, 2026, press release by the Department of Defense about the $150 million loan with Niron Magnetics, Inc. to scale domestic rare earth-free magnet production.
August 7, 2025, press release by the Department of Defense about the $80 million investment in mining schools at roundtable with mining executives.
July 20, 2026, Fact Sheet released by the White House on the Executive Order that secures America's defense supply chains relating to critical minerals and vital components for nations defense.
July 13, 2026, press release by the Department of Defense about $25 million investment with ReElement Technologis to expand U.S. critical minerals refining capacity.
Podcasts
Rebuilding America's Critical Minerals Base, Cogs of
War, War on the Rocks,July 21, 2026, 31 minutes.
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