critical raw materials

Analyzing the historical development of country approaches to critical materials, David Peck discusses the interplay between those that emphasize economic growth ("tech will fix it") and those that argue that finite resources will be exhausted ("limits to growth"). These two approaches are a feature of debate around critical materials and both are important, while countries also act in self-interest as well as responding to geopolitical tensions.{{Cite book|title=Critical materials : underlying causes and sustainable mitigation strategies | author=David Peck|chapter= 5.A Historical Perspective of Critical Materials, 1939 to 2006| editor=S. Erik Offerman|publisher=World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd|date=2018|isbn =9789813271043}}

For advanced industrial economies the commonly used terms "critical minerals" or "critical raw materials" refer to materials required for their strategic industries where there is a risk of interruption to supply.{{Cite report|title=What Makes Minerals and Metals "Critical"? A practical guide for governments on building resilient supply chains|author= Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development|url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/igf-what-makes-minerals-metals-critical.pdf|publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development|date=May 2024}} The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) is a transnational association whose members seek to secure a stable supply of raw materials for their economies.{{cite news |title=Minerals Security Partnership MEDIA NOTE |url=https://www.state.gov/minerals-security-partnership/ |publisher=US Department of State |date=14 June 2022 |access-date=5 May 2023 |archive-date=5 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230505180015/https://www.state.gov/minerals-security-partnership/ |url-status=live }} On 5 April 2024, MSP partners launched the Minerals Security Partnership Forum to enhance cooperation in respect of CRM critical to "green and digital transitions".{{cite web | url=https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_24_1807 | title=Press corner }}

According to the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF), criticality has no agreed definition, varies with time, and is specific to country and context.{{Cite report|title=Critical minerals: A primer|url=https://www.igfmining.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/critical-minerals-primer-en-WEB.pdf|publisher=The Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development|date=2022}}

{{main|United States critical materials list}}

2023 Final Critical Materials List includes critical materials for energy (sometimes known as the "electric 18"){{efn|aluminum, cobalt, copper, dysprosium, electrical steel, fluorine, gallium, iridium, lithium, magnesium, natural graphite, neodymium, nickel, platinum, praseodymium, silicon, silicon carbide and terbium}} together with 50 critical minerals.{{efn|Aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barite, beryllium, bismuth, cerium, cesium, chromium, cobalt, dysprosium, erbium, europium, fluorspar, gadolinium, gallium, germanium, graphite, hafnium, holmium, indium, iridium, lanthanum, lithium, lutetium, magnesium, manganese, neodymium, nickel, niobium, palladium, platinum, praseodymium, rhodium, rubidium, ruthenium, samarium, scandium, tantalum, tellurium, terbium, thulium, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, ytterbium, yttrium, zinc, and zirconium.

}}{{cite web | url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/08/04/2023-16611/notice-of-final-determination-on-2023-doe-critical-materials-list | title=Notice of Final Determination on 2023 DOE Critical Materials List | date=4 August 2023 }}

File:Critical Raw Materials list (CRMs list), summary of 2011, 2014 and 2017.jpg

The Critical Raw Materials Act came into effect on 23 May 2024. It specifies a list of 34 CRM, including 17 raw materials{{efn|Bauxite, Coking Coal, Lithium, Phosphorus, Antimony, Feldspar, Light rare earth elements, Scandium, Arsenic, Fluorspar, Magnesium, Silicon metal, Baryte, Gallium, Manganese, Strontium, Beryllium, Germanium, Natural Graphite, Tantalum, Bismuth, Hafnium, Niobium, Titanium metal, Boron/Borate, Helium, Platinum group metals, Tungsten, Cobalt, Heavy rare earth elements, Phosphate Rock, Vanadium, Copper, Nickel.}} considered strategic.{{Cite web|url=https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/raw-materials/areas-specific-interest/critical-raw-materials_en|title=Critical raw materials - European Commission|website=single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.globalpolicywatch.com/2024/05/the-eu-critical-raw-materials-act-enters-into-force/|title=The EU Critical Raw Materials Act enters into force|author=Carole Maczkovics, Sam Jungyun Choi, Matthieu Coget, Cándido García Molyneux|date=May 17, 2024|website=Global Policy Watch}}

The Critical Minerals Strategy, Resilience for the Future{{Cite report|title=Resilience for the Future: The United Kingdom's Critical Minerals Strategy|publisher=HM Government|date=July 2022}} was published in July 2022, updated{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/critical-minerals-refresh|title=Critical minerals refresh|website=GOV.UK}} in March 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://www.womblebonddickinson.com/us/insights/articles-and-briefings/uk-strategy-critical-minerals|title=The UK Strategy for Critical Minerals | Womble Bond Dickinson|website=www.womblebonddickinson.com}} As of December 2023, the UK does not produce any of the 18 identified highly critical CRM{{efn|Antimony, Bismuth, Cobalt, Gallium, Graphite, Indium, Lithium, Magnesium, Niobium, Palladium, Platinum, Rare Earth Elements, Silicon, Tantalum, Tellurium, Tin, Tungsten, Vanadium}}https://www.hfw.com/app/uploads/2024/04/004438-HFW-CLIENT-GUIDE-The-UK-Critical-Minerals-Strategy.pdfwhile a watchlist of increasingly critical materials includes Iridium, Manganese, Nickel, Phosphates and Ruthenium.{{Cite web|url=https://www.twobirds.com/en/insights/2023/uk/what-is-the-uks-critical-minerals-strategy-and-how-does-it-compare|title=What is the UK's Critical Minerals Strategy, and how does it compare to the EU's and Australia's strategies?|website=www.twobirds.com}}

In November 2024, the UK 2024 Criticality Assessment commissioned by the Department for Business and Trade, was published by the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre, a unit of the British Geological Survey.{{Cite web|title= UK 2024 criticality assessment|url=https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/538471/|publisher=British Geological Survey| date= 29 November 2024}} The report identified 34 minerals as critical. Aluminium, chromium, germanium, iron and nickel were added to the 2021 list while palladium was removed.{{Cite web|url=https://www.iom3.org/resource/report-flags-uk-vulnerable-to-critical-minerals-supply.html|title=Report flags UK vulnerable to critical minerals supply|website=www.iom3.org}}

By fostering sustainable planning and design, the United Kingdom could reduce its demand for limited resources while supporting long-term economic resilience.{{cite web |last1=Cosier |first1=Muriel |title=Critical minerals: Action needed to reduce use and improve sustainability |url=https://www.soci.org/news/2024/10/critical-minerals-action-needed-to-reduce-use-improve-sustainability |publisher=SCI}} Additionally, the report emphasizes the need for a circular economy. Enhancing the recovery, reuse, and recycling of materials would ensure that these resources re-enter the supply chain, and even look at formal processes such as a safer end of engineering life.

The UK’s National Engineering Policy Centre released a report into critical materials in the United Kingdom in 2024.{{cite web |title=Critical materials: demand-side resource efficiency measures for sustainability and resilience |url=https://raeng.org.uk/media/qutgamxj/nepc-critical-materials-report.pdf |publisher=Royal Academy of Engineering}} It studied ways of reducing the UK's demand for critical materials, especially in infrastructure, through changes to planning, design and end-of-life of technologies like electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, and also digital devices.

The report also warns that without strategic interventions to reduce critical material dependency, the UK risks jeopardising its net zero objectives and facing economic instability due to material shortages. It also suggested that the country could and should produce an integrated materials strategy. This strategy calls for the establishment of a National Materials Data Hub to monitor material usage and assess supply chain risks. The hub could support the UK with a comprehensive policy framework to better manage material consumption and avoid future shortages. Furthermore, the report stressed the importance of incorporating material requirements into the early planning stages of infrastructure projects, particularly in energy, transport, and digital systems. This proactive approach can help prevent potential disruptions caused by material scarcity.{{cite web |last1=Duckett |first1=Adam |title=UK needs integrated materials sector to drive growth, urges joint report |url=https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/news/uk-needs-integrated-materials-sector-to-drive-growth-urges-joint-report/ |publisher=The Chemical Engineer}}

The National Engineering Policy Centre report outlines specific recommendations to reduce the UK’s use and consumption of critical materials. One of its most ambitious targets is halving the UK's material footprint, which would drive resource efficiency and sustainability. It also proposes banning single-use vapes to decrease e-waste and reduce unnecessary material consumption. Moreover, the report suggests achieving a 15% reduction in whole-system energy demand, which would alleviate pressure on the materials required for energy infrastructure. The report argued that to support long term recovery of the materials, the UK must invest in recycling infrastructure capable of efficiently processing products rich in critical materials, such as electronics and batteries.

On November 30, 2023, the Ministry of National Security of China defined critical minerals{{efn|aluminium, antimony, beryllium, boron, chrome, coal, cobalt, copper, fluorite, gallium, germanium, graphite, indium, iron, lithium, manganese, molybdenum, natural gas, nickel, niobium, petroleum, potassium, rare earths, rhenium, tantalum, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium and zirconium}} as "those irreplaceable metal elements and mineral deposits used in advanced industries, such as new materials, new energy, next-generation information technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, edge-cutting equipment manufacturing, national defense, and military sectors."{{cite web | url=https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/four-key-critical-minerals-in-china-likely-to-be-under-the-spotlight-at-afa-2024/ | title=Four key critical minerals in China likely to be under the spotlight at AFA 2024 | date=22 February 2024 }}

There is an increased focus on supply chains in general and for critical materials specifically, highlighted by US-China competition. China is the biggest producer of 30 of the US 50 critical minerals as well as being a significant player in downstream processing and manufacture.{{Cite web|url=https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/resource-realism-the-geopolitics-of-critical-mineral-supply-chains|title=Resource realism: The geopolitics of critical mineral supply chains|website=www.goldmansachs.com}} Following US restrictions on the Chinese semiconductor industry,{{Cite web|url=https://www.bis.gov/press-release/commerce-strengthens-export-controls-restrict-chinas-capability-produce-advanced|title=Commerce Strengthens Export Controls to Restrict China's Capability to Produce Advanced Semiconductors for Military Applications | Bureau of Industry and Security|website=www.bis.gov}} China, on 3 December 2024, for the first time imposed export restrictions targeted at the United States only rather than all countries, covering antimony, gallium, and germanium.{{Cite web|url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/china-imposes-its-most-stringent-critical-minerals-export-restrictions-yet-amidst|title=China Imposes Its Most Stringent Critical Minerals Export Restrictions Yet Amidst Escalating U.S.-China Tech War|first1=Gracelin|last1=Baskaran|first2=Meredith|last2=Schwartz|date=December 4, 2024|via=www.csis.org}}

A 2024 analysis from the World Economic Forum states that potential scarcity of critical materials arising from the Energy transition will be driven by demand factors and suggests ways for governments to address the uncertainties involved.{{Cite web|url=https://www.weforum.org/publications/energy-transition-and-geopolitics-are-critical-minerals-the-new-oil/|title=Geopolitics and critical mineral dependencies|website=World Economic Forum}}{{Cite report|title=Energy Transition and Geopolitics: Are Critical Minerals the New Oil?|url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Energy_Transition_and_Geopolitics_2024.pdf|publisher=World Economic Forum|date=April 2024}}

• Circular economy
• Conflict resource

{{reflist}}

{{notelist}}

• {{Cite book|title=Critical materials : underlying causes and sustainable mitigation strategies|editor=S. Erik Offerman|publisher=World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd|date=2018|isbn =9789813271043}}
• {{Cite book|title=Critical Materials and Sustainability Transition|editor =Dr. Arda Işıldar & Dr. Eric D. van Hullebusch|publisher=CRC Press/Balkema|date=2024|isbn=978-1-003-21892-0}}

• [https://rmis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/topic/critical%20raw%20materials RMIS Raw Materials Information System Critical Raw Materials]

Category:Minerals