Critical raw materials. Governments designate critical raw materials  (CRM) (also referred to as critical materials or critical minerals) as critical for their economies so there is no single list of such raw materials as the list varies from country to country as does the definition of critical. They include technology-critical elements, rare-earth elements and strategic materials.

History and background
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.

Terminology and Country Definitions
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. The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) is a transnational association whose members seek to secure a stable supply of raw materials for their economies. 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".

Criticality
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.

US

2023 Final Critical Materials List includes critical materials for energy (sometimes known as the "electric 18") together with 50 critical minerals.

EU

The Critical Raw Materials Act came into effect on 23 May 2024. It specifies a list of 34 CRM, including 17 raw materials considered strategic.

UK
The Critical Minerals Strategy, Resilience for the Future was published in July 2022, updated in March 2023. As of December 2023, the UK does not produce any of the 18 identified highly critical CRMwhile a watchlist of increasingly critical materials includes Iridium, Manganese, Nickel, Phosphates and Ruthenium.

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. The report identified 34 minerals as critical. Aluminium, chromium, germanium, iron and nickel were added to the 2021 list while palladium was removed.

China
On November 30, 2023, the Ministry of National Security of China defined critical minerals 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."

Geopolitical risk
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. Following US restrictions on the Chinese semiconductor industry, 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.

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.

See also
 Circular economy
 Conflict resource

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links
RMIS Raw Materials Information System Critical Raw Materials

Minerals