{"id":12562,"date":"2022-03-15T12:00:59","date_gmt":"2022-03-15T12:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thermofisher.com\/blog\/mining\/?p=12562"},"modified":"2026-02-02T21:40:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T21:40:26","slug":"critical-minerals-updated-by-usgs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thermofisher.com\/blog\/mining\/critical-minerals-updated-by-usgs\/","title":{"rendered":"Critical Minerals Updated by USGS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"periodicNot many people think of the actual elements that need to be mined in order to live in the world today.  Metals and minerals touch almost every aspect of our lives, from consumer products to construction, to transportation, and more.  You can’t make rechargeable batteries without Cobalt, steel without Manganese, catalytic converters without Platinum, galvanized metals without Zinc, and life-saving medical imaging equipment without Gadolinium.  The list can go on.<\/p>\n

Minerals that serve an essential function in the manufacturing of a product, the absence of which would have significant consequences for the economy or national security are referred to as ‘critical minerals.’ The United States Geological Survey<\/a> (USGS) notes that “The Energy Act of 2020 defines a ‘critical mineral’ as a non-fuel mineral or mineral material essential to the economic or national security of the U.S. and which has a supply chain vulnerable to disruption.” <\/p>\n

The USGS has just released a new list of 50 mineral commodities critical to the U.S. economy and national security after an extensive multi-agency assessment.  If you look at the list you will notice many of the minerals are needed for electrical components and semi-conductors, steel making, atomic research, batteries, fiber optics, fuel cells, aerospace and automotive alloys, magnets, and lasers – among other manufactured goods.<\/p>\n

If you follow the critical minerals industry, you may have noticed that the original list of 35 commodities and groups named in 2018 has grown to 50 commodities today. According to the USGS report, the change resulted from splitting the rare earth elements<\/a> and platinum group elements<\/a> into individual entries rather than including them as mineral groups. In addition, the 2022 list of critical minerals adds nickel and zinc and removes helium, potash, rhenium, and strontium. (Read Can You Name All 17 Rare Earth Elements?<\/a> if you want to know more about REEs.)<\/p>\n

With this updated list, miners might think about updating the technology they need for rapid geochemical analysis that will enable them to increase exploration<\/a> discovery success rates of critical and other minerals<\/a> and metal elements – technology that can help them identify drill targets quickly, make on-site decisions about whether to stop or continue drilling, and decide where to focus on the grid. <\/p>\n

XRF technology<\/a> (also known as X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy) is a non-destructive analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of materials. Portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers<\/a> work by measuring the fluorescent (or secondary) X-rays emitted from a sample when excited by a primary X-ray source. Each of the elements present in a sample produces a set of characteristic fluorescent X-rays, or “unique fingerprints”. These “fingerprints” are distinct for each element, making handheld XRF analysis an excellent tool for quantitative and qualitative measurements.<\/p>\n

These portable mining and exploration instruments<\/a> can help make a critical difference in mining exploration and processing by providing rapid, on-site qualitative screening directly in-situ or lab-quality quantitative analysis on prepared samples.  This helps to bypass the costly and time-consuming process of sending samples to off-site laboratories and waiting days, or even months, for essential data to guide drilling decisions, enable high-productivity operations, and gain a competitive advantage. <\/p>\n

The USGS National Minerals Information Center director was quoted as saying: “Mineral criticality is not static, but changes over time.” So does technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not many people think of the actual elements that need to be mined in order to live in the world today.  Metals and minerals touch almost every aspect of our lives, from consumer products to construction, to transportation, and more.  You can’t make rechargeable batteries without Cobalt, steel without Manganese, catalytic converters without Platinum, galvanized<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":12566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"division":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12562","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-industry-mining","8":"entry"},"_selected_authors":[1288],"_selected_reviewers":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCritical 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Some have been around for quite awhile, but are still as relevant as ever. If you missed any of the latest articles, just click\u00a0here\u00a0to see the most recently published articles. You can even filter by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General\/Industry"","block_context":{"text":"General\/Industry","link":"https:\/\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/general-industry-mining\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Top 10, words, isolated on a dark blue background. Alphabet on stone blocks.Rating. Rating concept. 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Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometers play a vital role by providing fast, non-destructive elemental analysis of ores, concentrates, and intermediate products. 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According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), about 85% of potash is used in fertilizers, underscoring its critical role in global farming systems.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Data Management\/Lab Automation"","block_context":{"text":"Data Management\/Lab Automation","link":"https:\/\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/data-management-lab-automation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"potash evaporation ponds at mining site","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/06\/iStock-1362567340.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/06\/iStock-1362567340.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/06\/iStock-1362567340.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/06\/iStock-1362567340.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/06\/iStock-1362567340.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/06\/iStock-1362567340.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13977,"url":"https:\/\/www.thermofisher.com\/blog\/mining\/what-is-in-situ-geochemical-analysis-and-why-it-is-critical-for-modern-field-operations\/","url_meta":{"origin":12562,"position":3},"title":"What Is In Situ Geochemical Analysis \u2014 And Why It Is Critical for Modern Field Operations","author":"Marlene Gasdia-Cochrane","date":"March 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"In situ geochemical analysis has become a cornerstone of modern mineral exploration, mining, and environmental fieldwork. As project timelines tighten and operational costs increase, organizations can no longer afford delays caused by traditional laboratory testing workflows. In situ analysis \u2014 the ability to measure elemental composition directly at the sampling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Exploration"","block_context":{"text":"Exploration","link":"https:\/\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/exploration\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Close up of industrial worker holding mineral ore in gloved hands on mining site","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/iStock-896157842.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/iStock-896157842.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/iStock-896157842.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/iStock-896157842.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/iStock-896157842.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/iStock-896157842.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1624,"url":"https:\/\/www.thermofisher.com\/blog\/mining\/a-halloween-treat-free-periodic-table\/","url_meta":{"origin":12562,"position":4},"title":"A Halloween Treat – Free Periodic Table","author":"Marlene Gasdia-Cochrane","date":"October 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"No tricks here. Download this handy periodic table and X-ray energy reference guide to help in analyzing your mining samples. \u00a0It's our treat. Then visit our Mining and Minerals, Cement Production, and Coal Power pages for more goodies. Download Periodic Table.\u00a0 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Elemental\/Geochemical Analysis"","block_context":{"text":"Elemental\/Geochemical Analysis","link":"https:\/\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/elemental-geochemical-analysis\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"halloween scene with plastic pumpkin and candy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/No-Tricks-.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/No-Tricks-.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/No-Tricks-.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/No-Tricks-.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/admin.acceleratingscience.com\/mining\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/No-Tricks-.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13986,"url":"https:\/\/www.thermofisher.com\/blog\/mining\/best-practices-for-accurate-in-situ-geochemical-analysis\/","url_meta":{"origin":12562,"position":5},"title":"Best Practices for Accurate In Situ Geochemical Analysis","author":"Marlene Gasdia-Cochrane","date":"March 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"In situ geochemical analysis refers to elemental testing performed directly on geological materials in their natural location, avoiding the delays and costs associated with laboratory testing.\u00a0 While in situ geochemical analysis delivers immediate elemental data, the reliability of those results depends heavily on proper field methodology. 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