USGS updated a report on U.S. mineral resources for selected critical mineral commodites. This report updates USGS Professional Paper 820 (1973), which was published when many of the commodities that are covered in this new volume were only of minor importance. Today, advanced technologies have increased the demand for and production of mineral commodities for nearly all elements in the periodic table.
The problem:
A broad range of existing and emerging technologies are generating unprecedented demand for less-common commodities, such as
- lithium (Li),
- indium (In),
- tellurium (Te),
- gallium (Ga),
- antimony (Sb),
- beryllium (Be), and
- rare earth elements (REE).
These technologies range from new alternative energy sources to seemingly mundane routine uses. For a variety of reasons, supplies of these elements tend to lag significantly behind demand. One of the principal causes of this lag is the limited amount of exploration done in the last few decades for new sources of many critical minerals. To help ensure an adequate supply of these commodities requires answers to these questions:
- How important is the commodity to our present economy and standard of living?
- How much of it do we have and to what extent is it economically, environmentally, and technologically available? and
- How and where can more be found both in the United States and elsewhere?
What our project did:

USGS Professional Paper 1802 provides updates, for selected critical mineral commodities, of:
- the current state of knowledge of their geology;
- known resources, both U.S. and global;
- geoenvironmental issues related to their production and use; and
- geologic possibilities for finding additional deposits, both U.S. and global.
The final product is an update of the 1973 U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 820 United States Mineral Resources. The 1973 report presents a synthesis of the state of knowledge of the geology of both major and minor mineral commodities (major metals and industrial minerals as well as a number of commodities of lesser importance at that time) along with an appraisal of the known resources, and an examination of the geologic possibilities for finding additional deposits. Since this report was published, considerable advancements have been made concerning the geology of mineral deposits. In addition, several commodities considered of minor importance in 1973 have today become critical to the national economy and security. The revised professional paper provides updated information to inform government and the public on the status of critical mineral resource commodities in the United States in a global context.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Mineral Commodity Fact Sheets
The Mineral Resources Program publishes fact sheets on selected important commodities. These fact sheets teach about commodities and the important role each one plays in the national economy, national security, and lives of Americans every day.
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Global Distribution of Selected Mines, Deposits, and Districts of Critical Minerals
Below are publications associated with this project. The project also published fact sheets on various mineral commodities.
Critical mineral resources of the United States—Economic and environmental geology and prospects for future supply
SummaryMineral commodities are vital for economic growth, improving the quality of life, providing for national defense, and the overall functioning of modern society. Minerals are being used in larger quantities than ever before and in an increasingly diverse range of applications. With the increasing demand for a considerably more diverse suite of mineral commodities has come renewed recognition
Lithium
Zirconium and hafnium
Vanadium
Titanium
Tin
Tellurium
Selenium
Rhenium
Rare-earth elements
Platinum-group elements
The platinum-group elements (PGEs)—platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, and osmium—are metals that have similar physical and chemical properties and tend to occur together in nature. PGEs are indispensable to many industrial applications but are mined in only a few places. The availability and accessibility of PGEs could be disrupted by economic, environmental, political, and social e
Niobium and tantalum
Manganese
Below are news stories associated with this project.
- Overview
USGS updated a report on U.S. mineral resources for selected critical mineral commodites. This report updates USGS Professional Paper 820 (1973), which was published when many of the commodities that are covered in this new volume were only of minor importance. Today, advanced technologies have increased the demand for and production of mineral commodities for nearly all elements in the periodic table.
The problem:
A broad range of existing and emerging technologies are generating unprecedented demand for less-common commodities, such as
- lithium (Li),
- indium (In),
- tellurium (Te),
- gallium (Ga),
- antimony (Sb),
- beryllium (Be), and
- rare earth elements (REE).
These technologies range from new alternative energy sources to seemingly mundane routine uses. For a variety of reasons, supplies of these elements tend to lag significantly behind demand. One of the principal causes of this lag is the limited amount of exploration done in the last few decades for new sources of many critical minerals. To help ensure an adequate supply of these commodities requires answers to these questions:
- How important is the commodity to our present economy and standard of living?
- How much of it do we have and to what extent is it economically, environmentally, and technologically available? and
- How and where can more be found both in the United States and elsewhere?
What our project did:
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. Visit Media to see details.Cover of USGS Professional Paper 1802 Critical mineral resources of the United States—Economic and environmental geology and prospects for future supply, https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1802. USGS Professional Paper 1802 provides updates, for selected critical mineral commodities, of:
- the current state of knowledge of their geology;
- known resources, both U.S. and global;
- geoenvironmental issues related to their production and use; and
- geologic possibilities for finding additional deposits, both U.S. and global.
The final product is an update of the 1973 U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 820 United States Mineral Resources. The 1973 report presents a synthesis of the state of knowledge of the geology of both major and minor mineral commodities (major metals and industrial minerals as well as a number of commodities of lesser importance at that time) along with an appraisal of the known resources, and an examination of the geologic possibilities for finding additional deposits. Since this report was published, considerable advancements have been made concerning the geology of mineral deposits. In addition, several commodities considered of minor importance in 1973 have today become critical to the national economy and security. The revised professional paper provides updated information to inform government and the public on the status of critical mineral resource commodities in the United States in a global context.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Mineral Commodity Fact Sheets
The Mineral Resources Program publishes fact sheets on selected important commodities. These fact sheets teach about commodities and the important role each one plays in the national economy, national security, and lives of Americans every day.
- Data
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Global Distribution of Selected Mines, Deposits, and Districts of Critical Minerals
The point and polygon layers within this geodatabase present the global distribution of mineral resource features (deposits, mines, districts, mineral regions) for 22 minerals or mineral commodities considered critical to the economy and security of the United States as of 2017. These data accompany the report by Schulz and others (2017) which provides national and global information on antimony ( - Publications
Below are publications associated with this project. The project also published fact sheets on various mineral commodities.
Critical mineral resources of the United States—Economic and environmental geology and prospects for future supply
SummaryMineral commodities are vital for economic growth, improving the quality of life, providing for national defense, and the overall functioning of modern society. Minerals are being used in larger quantities than ever before and in an increasingly diverse range of applications. With the increasing demand for a considerably more diverse suite of mineral commodities has come renewed recognition
Filter Total Items: 23Lithium
Lithium, the lightest of all metals, is used in air treatment, batteries, ceramics, glass, metallurgy, pharmaceuticals, and polymers. Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are particularly important in efforts to reduce global warming because they make it possible to power cars and trucks from renewable sources of energy (for example, hydroelectric, solar, or wind) instead of by burning fossil fuels.AuthorsDwight C. Bradley, Lisa L. Stillings, Brian W. Jaskula, LeeAnn Munk, Andrew D. McCauleyZirconium and hafnium
Zirconium and hafnium are corrosion-resistant metals that are widely used in the chemical and nuclear industries. Most zirconium is consumed in the form of the main ore mineral zircon (ZrSiO4, or as zirconium oxide or other zirconium chemicals. Zirconium and hafnium are both refractory lithophile elements that have nearly identical charge, ionic radii, and ionic potentials. As a result, their geocAuthorsJames V. Jones, Nadine M. Piatak, George M. BedingerVanadium
Vanadium is used primarily in the production of steel alloys; as a catalyst for the chemical industry; in the making of ceramics, glasses, and pigments; and in vanadium redox-flow batteries (VRBs) for large-scale storage of electricity. World vanadium resources in 2012 were estimated to be 63 million metric tons, which include about 14 million metric tons of reserves. The majority of the vanadiumAuthorsKaren D. Kelley, Clint Scott, Désirée E. Polyak, Bryn E. KimballTitanium
Titanium is a mineral commodity that is essential to the smooth functioning of modern industrial economies. Most of the titanium produced is refined into titanium dioxide, which has a high refractive index and is thus able to impart a durable white color to paint, paper, plastic, rubber, and wallboard. Because of their high strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance, titanium metal and titaAuthorsLaurel G. Woodruff, George M. Bedinger, Nadine M. PiatakTin
Tin (Sn) is one of the first metals to be used by humans. Almost without exception, tin is used as an alloy. Because of its hardening effect on copper, tin was used in bronze implements as early as 3500 B.C. The major uses of tin today are for cans and containers, construction materials, transportation materials, and solder. The predominant ore mineral of tin, by far, is cassiterite (SnO2).In 2015AuthorsRobert J. Kamilli, Bryn E. Kimball, James F. CarlinTellurium
Tellurium (Te) is a very rare element that averages only 3 parts per billion in Earth’s upper crust. It shows a close association with gold and may be present in orebodies of most gold deposit types at levels of tens to hundreds of parts per million. In large-tonnage mineral deposits, such as porphyry copper and seafloor volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits, sulfide minerals may contain hundredsAuthorsRichard J. Goldfarb, Byron R. Berger, Micheal W. George, Robert R. SealSelenium
Selenium (Se) was discovered in 1817 in pyrite from copper mines in Sweden. It is a trace element in Earth’s crust, with an abundance of three to seven orders of magnitude less than the major rock-forming elements. Commercial use of selenium began in the United States in 1910, when it was used as a pigment for paints, ceramic glazes, and red glass. Since that time, it has had many other economic uAuthorsLisa L. StillingsRhenium
Rhenium is one of the rarest elements in Earth’s continental crust; its estimated average crustal abundance is less than 1 part per billion. Rhenium is a metal that has an extremely high melting point and a heat-stable crystalline structure. More than 80 percent of the rhenium consumed in the world is used in high-temperature superalloys, especially those used to make turbine blades for jet aircraAuthorsDavid A. John, Robert R. Seal, Désirée E. PolyakRare-earth elements
The rare-earth elements (REEs) are 15 elements that range in atomic number from 57 (lanthanum) to 71 (lutetium); they are commonly referred to as the “lanthanides.” Yttrium (atomic number 39) is also commonly regarded as an REE because it shares chemical and physical similarities and has affinities with the lanthanides. Although REEs are not rare in terms of average crustal abundance, the concentrAuthorsBradley S. Van Gosen, Philip L. Verplanck, Robert R. Seal, Keith R. Long, Joseph GambogiPlatinum-group elements
The platinum-group elements (PGEs)—platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, and osmium—are metals that have similar physical and chemical properties and tend to occur together in nature. PGEs are indispensable to many industrial applications but are mined in only a few places. The availability and accessibility of PGEs could be disrupted by economic, environmental, political, and social e
AuthorsMichael L. Zientek, Patricia J. Loferski, Heather L. Parks, Ruth F. Schulte, Robert R. SealNiobium and tantalum
Niobium and tantalum are transition metals that are almost always found together in nature because they have very similar physical and chemical properties. Their properties of hardness, conductivity, and resistance to corrosion largely determine their primary uses today. The leading use of niobium (about 75 percent) is in the production of high-strength steel alloys used in pipelines, transportatiAuthorsKlaus J. Schulz, Nadine M. Piatak, John F. PappManganese
Manganese is an essential element for modern industrial societies. Its principal use is in steelmaking, where it serves as a purifying agent in iron-ore refining and as an alloy that converts iron into steel. Although the amount of manganese consumed to make a ton of steel is small, ranging from 6 to 9 kilograms, it is an irreplaceable component in the production of this fundamental material. TheAuthorsWilliam F. Cannon, Bryn E. Kimball, Lisa A. Corathers - News
Below are news stories associated with this project.