WASHINGTON — The U.S. Geological Survey released an updated database cataloguing known domestic deposits of 59 critical minerals essential for defense, clean energy and advanced technology on Sept. 29, the most comprehensive federal inventory of U.S. critical mineral resources assembled to date.
The database is designed to support domestic critical mineral production and reduce U.S. reliance on Chinese imports for strategic materials, USGS said.
Critical minerals include lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements and dozens of other materials essential to batteries, semiconductors, military systems, electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure. The United States currently depends on China for more than 50 of these minerals, a supply chain vulnerability that defense officials, intelligence agencies and both political parties have identified as a national security risk.
The data release supports multiple active executive orders on domestic critical mineral supply chain security, according to USGS.
For American manufacturers, automakers and technology companies, the database provides a federal resource for identifying potential domestic supply sources that could reduce dependence on foreign, and particularly Chinese, suppliers.
The updated inventory maps known deposits across the United States, providing geological data that can inform private investment decisions and federal permitting priorities for new mining operations.
Developing domestic critical mineral supply chains has been a bipartisan priority in Congress, though specific proposals have generated debate over environmental permitting timelines, mining regulations on public lands, and the balance between resource development and conservation.
The USGS National Minerals Information Center compiled the database, which draws on decades of geological survey data supplemented by new assessments of previously uncharacterized deposits.
USGS said the database will be updated periodically as new geological assessments are completed.