Background: Critical minerals and materials are key components of the innovation economy. Minerals are a part of almost every product we use on a daily basis, either as the raw materials for manufacturing processes or as the end products themselves. Advanced technologies for communications, clean energy, medical devices, and national security rely on raw materials from mines throughout the world. In 2010, China curtailed exports of rare earth metals and sparked major concern about the security of global supply chains for a range of vital minerals and materials.

Speakers highlight:

• Research on locating and processing the minerals and materials that fuel cutting-edge technology and manufacturing across the United States
• The role of information on the global supply of, demand for, and flow of minerals and materials in identifying critical minerals and supporting economic and strategic decision making.

Our speakers are:

• Lawrence D. Meinert, Mineral Resources Program, U.S. Geological Survey | Slides  Video
• Steven M. Fortier, National Minerals Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey | Slides  Video
• Rod Eggert, Colorado School of Mines; Critical Materials Institute, Ames Laboratory | Slides  Video

Webinar Co-Sponsors:

American Chemical Society, American Exploration & Mining Association, American Physical Society, Critical Materials Institute, Geological Society of America, Industrial Minerals Association -North America, Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Society of Economic Geologists, U.S. Geological Survey

Resources to learn more:

•  View this webinar's Question & Answer session
• American Geosciences Institute, Critical Minerals information portal
• U.S. Geological Survey, National Minerals Information Center (NMIC)
• U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Resources Program
• U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Resources Program and NMIC Publications webpage
• Critical Materials Institute
• National Research Council's 2008 report, Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economy
• U.S. Department of Energy's Critical Materials Strategy
• U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5220: The Principal Rare Earth Elements Deposits of the United States - A Summary of Domestic Deposits and a Global Perspective
• U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011-2094: Rare Earth Elements - End Use and Recyclability
• Watch the Webinar Question & Answer session on YouTube

Search the Geological Surveys Database for reports and factsheets about critical minerals.