The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) 2025 List of Critical Minerals includes 60 mineral commodities critical to the U.S. economy and national security. Of these 60, Missouri has 36 economically viable critical minerals. These include barite, bismuth, cobalt, copper, gallium, germanium, hafnium, indium, lead, magnesium, manganese, nickel, phosphate, silicon, silver, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, and zinc and rare earth elements (cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium, samarium, scandium, gadolinium, holmium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium, and yttrium).
Beyond critical defense and economic uses, the elements are used every day in cell phones, computers, cars, lighting, medical applications, electronics, and green energy, among numerous others. Learn more about some of these minerals below.
