Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economy
2008

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Minerals are part of virtually every product we use. Common examples include copper used in electrical wiring and titanium used to make airplane frames and paint pigments. The Information Age has ushered in a number of new mineral uses in a number of products including cell phones (e.g., tantalum) and liquid crystal displays (e.g., indium). For some minerals, such as the platinum group metals used to make cataytic converters in cars, there is no substitute. If the supply of any given mineral were to become restricted, consumers and sectors of the U.S. economy could be significantly affected. Risks to minerals supplies can include a sudden increase in demand or the possibility that natural ores can be exhausted or become too difficult to extract. Minerals are more vulnerable to supply restrictions if they come from a limited number of mines, mining companies, or nations. Baseline information on minerals is currently collected at the federal level, but no established methodology has existed to identify potentially critical minerals. This book develops such a methodology and suggests an enhanced federal initiative to collect and analyze the additional data needed to support this type of tool.

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262 pages · 6 x 9 · paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-11282-6
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-11283-4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/12034

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National Research Council. 2008. Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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Front Matter i-xvi
Summary 1-18
1 Critical Minerals 19-38
2 Minerals and Materials Uses in the United States 39-70
3 Availability and Reliability of Supply 71-108
4 Applying the Matrix 109-168
5 Mineral Information and Possible Initiatives in Research and Education 169-204
6 Conclusions and Recommendations 205-222
Appendixes 223-224
APPENDIX A: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff 225-232
APPENDIX B: Workshop Agenda and Participants 233-236
APPENDIX C: Glossary 237-244
APPENDIX D: Periodic Table of Elements 245-246

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Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economy (2008)

Chapter: Appendixes

Appendixes