• The Year the US. Doubled Down on Critical Minerals

    President Donald Trump spent most of 2025 hacking away at large parts of the federal government. One tiny corner of regulation, however, has actually grown under Trump: the critical minerals list. The list of metals became a top priority under Trump. But what even are they?

  • Behind Trump’s Peace Efforts: A Strategic Focus on Critical Minerals

    President Trump has repeatedly claimed to have ended eight wars since he returned to office. Accessing critical minerals and resource extraction appear to be at the core of those diplomatic efforts.

  • Australia Must Make the Most of the U.S. Critical-Minerals Pivot

    For the first time in years, the US conversation on critical minerals has matured beyond broad rhetoric. What was once a generic discussion about “critical minerals” has shifted decisively to developing supply chains for specific minerals. And perhaps most importantly, the dialogue is no longer confined to government-to-government statements: it now involves dozens of mining and refining.

  • G20 Johannesburg Endorses Critical Minerals Framework

    The Trump administration is trying to diversify critical minerals supply chains and reduce dependence on China, but this goal cannot be achieved without broad and deep cooperation with other countries. The U.S. absence from the 2025 G20 discussions on critical minerals weakens collective efforts to counterbalance China’s influence.

  • Bookshelf: Critical Mineral Dilemmas

    Whoever controls the production and processing of lithium, copper and other critical minerals could dominate the 21st century economy, much as producers of fossil fuels defined the 20th century, writes Ernest Scheyder in a new book.

  • U.S. and Australia Deepen Critical-Minerals Engagement to Counter China

    Engagement between Australia and the United States on critical minerals has matured from technical cooperation into a strategic partnership, aligning resource security with clean energy and defense priorities. 

  • 13 States Work on Critical Minerals in Mine Waste

    The U.S. Geological Survey has awarded nearly $3 million in cooperative agreements to state geological surveys to study critical minerals in the materials left over from mining at active and legacy sites.

  • Electric Cars May Be the “Green” Choice, but They're Driving a Scramble for Critical Minerals

    Our cars are responsible for about 20 per cent of global carbon emissions. The move to electric vehicles (EVs) is central to the effort to decarbonize the world’s transport. But the clean-energy transition is also creating a new extractive frontier: the minerals that power electric car batteries. And the same forces that shaped the geopolitics of oil are re-emerging in the race to power the electric revolution.

  • China, the United States, and a Critical Chokepoint on Minerals

    Critical minerals today are “America’s most dangerous dependence,” in the words of CFR’s Heidi Crebo-Rediker. With near total control of the world’s critical minerals production, China maintains significant economic leverage over access to inputs that are necessary for everything from everyday products like smartphones to advanced weapons systems like the F-35.

  • A New Generation of Industries Emerges in Texas as Feds Push to Mine More Rare Minerals

    The U.S. doesn’t produce the minerals and metals needed for renewable energy, microchips or military technology. Major oil companies are drilling in East Texas again, but not for oil. This time, they’re after lithium for batteries and other rare elements.

  • The U.S. Critical Minerals Dilemma: What to Know

    Critical minerals play an essential role in security and technological competitiveness, but the United States relies heavily on imports from China and other foreign sources. The Trump administration is trying to change that.

  • U.S. Energy Supply Chains Are Unlikely to Meet Anticipated Demand

    The U.S. fast-growing energy demands for clean energy sources faces a problem: Under current supply chain conditions, the United States is on track to fall significantly short of surging demand for three clean energy sources: wind, solar, and battery. The shortage is due to the scarcity of critical raw materials such as nickel, aluminum, and silicon.

  • U.S. Department of Energy buys 5% of Lithium Americas

    Lithium Americas, founded 2023 in Canada, owns the permit to develop the Thacker Pass grounds in Humboldt County, Nevada for lithium mining. The U.S. Department of Energy settled government takeover reports of Lithium Americas Corp., announcing a 5% ownership of the $1.5 billion mining company.

  • Securing South Korea's Critical Minerals Supply Chains Through Trilateral Cooperation

    South Korea, Japan, and the United States’ trilateral partnership has expanded to include collaboration on economic security, including on critical minerals supply chains (CMSCs). A new report offers analysis, tools, and recommendations to strengthen South Korea’s CMSCs and economic security.

  • U.S. Mines Are Literally Throwing Away Critical Minerals

    The United States is home to dozens of active mines. Some extract copper, while others dig for iron. Whatever the resource, however, it usually makes up a small fraction of the rock pulled from the ground. There’s enough lithium in one year of U.S. mine waste to power 10 million electric vehicles.