Nickel and Zinc Added to the 2021 Draft U.S. Critical Minerals List

The US Geological Survey issued a draft update to the federal Critical Minerals List on November 9. The new list refines the original 2018 list, which was prompted by the “mineral security” provisions of the Energy Act of 2020. Under the Energy Act, the list is required to be reviewed every three years.

The 2021 draft list makes two notable additions – nickel and zinc – and removes helium, potash, rhenium, and strontium.

The new list also increases the number of mineral commodities from 35 commodities and groups on the final 2018 list to 50 commodities on the 2021 draft list, primarily resulting from splitting the rare earth elements and platinum group elements into individual entries rather than including them as mineral groups.

The Energy Act of 2020 defined critical minerals as those which:

(i) “are essential to the economic or national security of the United States;

(ii) the supply chain of which is vulnerable to disruption (including restrictions associated with foreign political risk, abrupt demand growth, military conflict, violent unrest, anti-competitive or protectionist behaviors, and other risks through-out the supply chain); and

(iii) serve an essential function in the manufacturing of a product (including energy technology, defense, currency, agriculture, consumer electronics and healthcare-related applications), the absence of which would have significant consequences for the economic or national security of the United States.”

Among the factors behind adding new entries are those minerals vulnerable to a “single point of failure” and which serve an essential economic function for the nation.

NASF is reviewing the list and the underlying methodology from USGS. Comments are due December 9, 2021.

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This update is courtesy of the National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF). For more information or to become a member, visit nasf.org.