Utah's Critical Minerals

What are critical minerals?

“Critical minerals” is a term that refers to mineral commodities that are important for the country’s economic stability and national security but may have vulnerabilities in the supply chain.

The term “minerals” in the context of critical minerals includes commodities that are actual minerals (such as fluorspar), refined commodities produced from minerals (such as copper produced from chalcopyrite), and commodities that are only made of one element (such as graphite, which is a specific form of carbon).

The lists of minerals and elements that are considered critical have changed through time with the earliest lists being prepared around the time of World War I. More recently, the U.S. Geological Survey published a list of critical minerals in 2018 which was subsequently updated in 2022 and 2025. In the current era, the usual reason a mineral commodity is deemed critical is because the United States produces very little domestically and imports the commodity from foreign sources. This dependency is increasingly driven by the modern economy’s reliance on high-tech electronic devices and the needs of the aerospace and defense industries, all of which require a vast array of raw critical minerals.
https://ugspub.nr.utah.gov/publications/public_information/pi-109.pdf

Utah is a state with diverse geology and natural resources, and this diversity extends to mineral resources that are deemed critical by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Utah’s critical mineral portfolio includes current producers, known resources, areas of past production, and undeveloped occurrences.
https://ugspub.nr.utah.gov/publications/circular/c-135.pdf

UGS Video - Stephanie Mills
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