Reference list
US critical minerals list 2025: all 60 minerals
The US Geological Survey's final 2025 list names 60 critical minerals, 16 of them rare earths and 10 added since 2022. We cover 24 of the 60 with a price or explainer page, and 14 are under an active Chinese export licence that we track (tungsten is included here but not among our 25 covered elements).
USGS list published 6 November 2025 · reviewed 28 October 2026
The list by group
| Group | Minerals | With a page here |
|---|---|---|
| Rare earths | 16 | 16 |
| Technology metals | 8 | 8 |
| Battery and energy metals | 4 | 0 |
| Steel and alloy metals | 10 | 0 |
| Platinum group metals | 5 | 0 |
| Base and precious metals | 6 | 0 |
| Industrial minerals | 9 | 0 |
| Fuels and uranium | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 60 | 24 |
Groups are our own; USGS publishes a single alphabetical list. "With a page here" means a price or explainer page exists on this site.
All 60 critical minerals
| Mineral | Group | Added 2025 | Chinese export licence | On this site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminum | Base and precious metals | — | ||
| Antimony | Technology metals | Licence since Sep 2024 | What is antimony? · price | |
| Arsenic | Industrial minerals | — | ||
| Barite | Industrial minerals | — | ||
| Beryllium | Steel and alloy metals | — | ||
| Bismuth | Technology metals | Licence since Feb 2025 | What is bismuth? · price | |
| Boron | Industrial minerals | Yes | — | |
| Cerium | Rare earths | Not licensed | What is cerium? | |
| Cesium | Industrial minerals | — | ||
| Chromium | Steel and alloy metals | — | ||
| Cobalt | Battery and energy metals | — | ||
| Copper | Base and precious metals | Yes | — | |
| Dysprosium | Rare earths | April 2025 list | What is dysprosium? · price | |
| Erbium | Rare earths | October 2025 package (suspended) | What is erbium? | |
| Europium | Rare earths | October 2025 package (suspended) | What is europium? | |
| Fluorspar | Industrial minerals | — | ||
| Gadolinium | Rare earths | April 2025 list | What is gadolinium? | |
| Gallium | Technology metals | Licence since Aug 2023 | What is gallium? · price | |
| Germanium | Technology metals | Licence since Aug 2023 | What is germanium? · price | |
| Graphite | Battery and energy metals | — | ||
| Hafnium | Technology metals | What is hafnium? · price | ||
| Holmium | Rare earths | October 2025 package (suspended) | What is holmium? | |
| Indium | Technology metals | Licence since Feb 2025 | What is indium? · price | |
| Iridium | Platinum group metals | — | ||
| Lanthanum | Rare earths | Not licensed | What is lanthanum? | |
| Lead | Base and precious metals | Yes | — | |
| Lithium | Battery and energy metals | — | ||
| Lutetium | Rare earths | April 2025 list | What is lutetium? | |
| Magnesium | Steel and alloy metals | — | ||
| Manganese | Steel and alloy metals | — | ||
| Metallurgical coal | Fuels and uranium | Yes | — | |
| Neodymium | Rare earths | Not licensed | What is neodymium? · price | |
| Nickel | Battery and energy metals | — | ||
| Niobium | Steel and alloy metals | — | ||
| Palladium | Platinum group metals | — | ||
| Phosphate | Industrial minerals | Yes | — | |
| Platinum | Platinum group metals | — | ||
| Potash | Industrial minerals | Yes | — | |
| Praseodymium | Rare earths | Not licensed | What is praseodymium? · price | |
| Rhenium | Technology metals | Yes | What is rhenium? · price | |
| Rhodium | Platinum group metals | — | ||
| Rubidium | Industrial minerals | — | ||
| Ruthenium | Platinum group metals | — | ||
| Samarium | Rare earths | April 2025 list | What is samarium? | |
| Scandium | Rare earths | April 2025 list | What is scandium? | |
| Silicon | Industrial minerals | Yes | — | |
| Silver | Base and precious metals | Yes | — | |
| Tantalum | Steel and alloy metals | — | ||
| Tellurium | Technology metals | Licence since Feb 2025 | What is tellurium? · price | |
| Terbium | Rare earths | April 2025 list | What is terbium? · price | |
| Thulium | Rare earths | October 2025 package (suspended) | What is thulium? | |
| Tin | Base and precious metals | — | ||
| Titanium | Steel and alloy metals | — | ||
| Tungsten | Steel and alloy metals | Licence since Feb 2025 | — | |
| Uranium | Fuels and uranium | Yes | — | |
| Vanadium | Steel and alloy metals | — | ||
| Ytterbium | Rare earths | October 2025 package (suspended) | What is ytterbium? | |
| Yttrium | Rare earths | April 2025 list | What is yttrium? | |
| Zinc | Base and precious metals | — | ||
| Zirconium | Steel and alloy metals | — |
Source: USGS, final 2025 List of Critical Minerals (6 November 2025). Chinese licence column: our tracked regimes only (see the export-control timeline); a blank means not in those regimes, not that no control exists. Rare earth entries show the April 2025 list, or the October 2025 package that is suspended for a year.
What the list means
Rare earths are the largest block on the list: 16 of 60 minerals. USGS describes them as the subset whose supply disruption would impose the highest cost on the US economy. The other technology metals we track, gallium, germanium, hafnium, indium, rhenium, antimony, bismuth and tellurium, are all on the list too, and rhenium was a 2025 addition.
The 2025 additions are boron, copper, lead, metallurgical coal, phosphate, potash, rhenium, silicon, silver and uranium. The list is the third since a 2017 executive order and is reviewed at least every three years under the Energy Act of 2020. Start with the rare earth elements, the price table and the heavy vs light explainer.
US critical minerals list: frequently asked questions
How many minerals are on the US critical minerals list?
The final 2025 USGS list has 60 minerals, published on 6 November 2025. It added 10 to the previous list: boron, copper, lead, metallurgical coal, phosphate, potash, rhenium, silicon, silver and uranium.
Which rare earths are on the critical minerals list?
Sixteen: cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium and yttrium. Promethium is not on the list.
Who decides what is critical?
The US Geological Survey, under the Energy Act of 2020, using a method that assesses how supply disruption would affect the US economy and national security. The list is reviewed at least every three years and updated at least every two.
Is the critical minerals list the same as China's export controls?
No. They overlap but come from different governments. Of the 60 US-listed minerals, 14 are in the Chinese licence regimes we track, and the table marks which.
Sources
Information only, not investment advice.