USGS Releases Draft 2025 Critical Minerals List; Kazakhstan Emerges as Key Supplier

Washington, The Gulf Observer: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has released a draft of its updated 2025 Critical Minerals List, identifying 54 materials considered vital to the United States’ economy and national security, according to media reports.

Prepared under the Energy Act of 2020, the list is reviewed every three years based on supply risks and the strategic importance of each resource. The draft, now published in the Federal Register, is open for a 30-day public comment period.

The USGS recommends the addition of six minerals—potash, silicon, copper, silver, rhenium, and lead—while removing arsenic and tellurium. At the White House’s request, the agency will also study whether uranium and metallurgical coal should be included.

For the assessment, USGS experts modeled more than 1,200 scenarios involving potential trade restrictions on 84 mineral commodities. Results showed possible economic impacts ranging from losses of nearly USD 4.5 billion to modest gains of USD 33 million. The highest risks were linked to rare earth elements (REEs), predominantly sourced from China, and platinum group metals from South Africa.

Kazakhstan’s Strategic Role

Kazakhstan is among the few countries with substantial reserves of several minerals newly proposed for inclusion on the 2025 list, including potash, silicon, copper, silver, rhenium, and lead. Overall, Kazakhstan possesses proven reserves or active production of nearly half of the 54 minerals deemed critical by the USGS.

• Copper: Kazakhstan is a top global producer, holding 20 million tons of reserves and producing 600,000 tons in 2023, ranking 11th worldwide in both reserves and production.
• Lead: With 2 million tons of reserves and 40,000 tons of annual output, Kazakhstan accounts for almost 3% of global supply.
• Silver: The country ranks 10th globally in silver production (990 tons in 2023) and has the world’s third-largest reserves.
• Silicon: Kazakhstan produced 137,000 tons in 2024, ranking 7th worldwide.
• Aluminum: The country is 11th globally in bauxite reserves.

Kazakhstan also holds world-leading reserves of chromium, uranium, barite, and manganese, alongside significant deposits of rare earth elements. It actively produces beryllium, tantalum, niobium, scandium, titanium, rhenium, and osmium, with technologies in place for recovering gallium and indium.

Exploration conducted since 2022 at 11 sites has identified deposits containing beryllium, yttrium, niobium, tungsten, gallium, cesium, and molybdenum. Preliminary estimates suggest reserves of 23,800 tons of beryllium, 60,690 tons of yttrium, 33,480 tons of gallium, and other rare earths.

With its abundant resources, Kazakhstan is poised to play an increasingly strategic role in global critical mineral supply chains as the U.S. finalizes its 2025 list.