Minerals, Critical Minerals, and The U.S. Economy

Summary 1(18) Critical Minerals 19(20) Introduction 19(1) Background of Study and Committee Charge 20(1) Previous and Ongoing Work 21(5) The Cycle of Minerals and Materials 26(2) What is a Critical Mineral? 28(3) The Criticality Matrix 31(4) Committee Process 35(1) Report Structure and Concluding Remarks 36(1) References 37(2) Minerals and Materials Uses in the United States 39(32) Nonfuel Minerals and Society 39(4) Chemical and Physical Properties of Minerals 43(5) Mineral Uses 48(15) Impacts on the U.S. Economy 63(4) Summary and Findings 67(2) References 69(2) Availability and Reliability of Supply 71(38) Introduction 71(1) The Five Dimenstions of Primary Availability 72(18) The Four Dimensions of Secondary Availability 90(9) Supply Risk 99(4) Summary and Findings 103(2) References 105(4) Applying the Matrix 109(60) Using the Matrix to Evaluate Mineral Criticality 109(10) Criticality Assessments 119(29) Other Critical Mineral Candidates 148(16) Summary and Findings 164(3) References 167(2) Mineral Information and Possible Initiatives in Research and Education 169(36) Introduction 169(1) Mineral Data and the Federal Statistical Program 170(11) Critical Mineral Information Sources 181(9) Enhancing Our Understanding of Critical Minerals: Federal Information and Research Needs 190(5) The Professional Pipeline 195(4) Summary and Findings 199(2) References 201(4) Conclusions and Recommendations 205 Conclusions 207(11) Recommendations 219 APPENDIXES A. Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff 225(6) B. Workshop Agenda and Participants 233(4) C. Glossary 237(8) D. Periodic Table of Elements 245