Glossary term

U.S. critical mineral

U.S. statutory designation term for minerals, elements, substances, or materials designated as critical by the Secretary of the Interior.

1 official sourceSingle-source term

What does U.S. critical mineral mean?

A U.S. critical mineral is designation-based: the statutory definition points to the Secretary’s list process, then excludes fuel minerals, water/ice/snow, and common varieties of sand, gravel, stone, pumice, cinders, and clay.

Official definitions by source

U.S. Energy Act

30 U.S.C. § 1606 Mineral security

The term "critical mineral" means any mineral, element, substance, or material designated as critical by the Secretary under subsection (c). The term "critical mineral" does not include fuel minerals; water, ice, or snow; common varieties of sand, gravel, stone, pumice, cinders, and clay.

North American critical-minerals/materials source layer; source-specific and not interchangeable with EU CRMA or EU Conflict Minerals definitions.

Reference: 30 U.S.C. § 1606(a)(3)

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Practical application

Implementation records should capture the U.S. critical-mineral designation, Secretary/USGS list version, material identifier, exclusion check, supply-chain vulnerability rationale, essential-use context, and Federal Register list evidence.

Minespider commentary

U.S. critical mineral is a designation-control term: it should be linked to the current U.S. list and exclusion logic, not treated as the same object as EU critical raw materials or EU conflict-minerals 3TG scope.

Common confusions

The U.S. term is not identical to EU critical raw material or strategic raw material.
The U.S. statutory definition depends on designation under subsection 1606(c), not only a material’s commercial importance.
Excluded fuel minerals and common materials should not be treated as critical minerals under this definition.