The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publishes a final catalog of 50 critical minerals of great economic and national security importance. Titanium, zirconium and hafnium are three mineral elements in it. On the day the list was released, the Biden administration issued a statement saying: [Critical minerals provide the foundation for many modern technologies and are essential to national security and economic prosperity." [Critical minerals are critical to our national security, economy, renewable energy development and infrastructure. Construction plays an important role," said Tanya Trujillo, undersecretary for water and scientific research at the U.S. Department of the Interior. [USGS collects and analyzes data to identify emerging issues in key supply chains, and assesses the risk of possible disruptions to the nation`s mineral supply every three years."
The new catalogue was developed in response to the requirements of the Energy Act 2020, which states that the Home Office must review and update the Critical Minerals Catalogue at least every three years. USGS is also responsible for making improvements to the methodology for identifying potentially critical minerals, for interagency feedback and public comment through the Federal Register, and culminating in the Critical Minerals Catalog.
The USGS said the catalog will be updated dynamically, not set in stone. "The crisis of minerals changes over time, not static," Steven Fortier, director of the USGS National Mineral Information Center, said in a media release.The 2022 Critical Minerals Catalog was created using the most recent data available for non-fuel minerals. However, we have been analyzing the minerals market and exploring new ways to judge the complex and variable nature of supply chain risks for critical minerals." USGS said the new Critical Minerals Catalog will serve as the basis for conducting critical mineral potential assessments in the continental United States.