U.S. Fails to Track Critical Minerals

Study Recommends Ways to Avoid Economic, Military Threats

Oil isn't the only natural resource we rely on to keep society humming; many non-fuel minerals are also essential to our daily lives. But neither the government nor industry has enough key information to make sure those mineral supplies are secure, according to a new study by the National Research Council.

The U.S. depends on a number of critical minerals to make everything from cellphones and toothpaste to flat-screen TVs and pacemakers, and many of those minerals are increasingly being imported from other parts of the world.

"Minerals are part of virtually every product we use," began the study, "Minerals, Critical Minerals, the the U.S. Economy." "Their unique properties contribute to provision of food, shelter, infrastructure, transportation, communications, health care, and defense. Minerals used in common applications include iron to produce steel, copper used in electrical wiring and plumbing, and titanium used for the structural frames of airplanes and in paint pigments. Every year over 25,000 pounds (11.3 metric tons) of new minerals must be provided for every person in the United States to make the items that we use every day, and a growing number of these minerals are imported.

In fact, new technologies are actually increasing the need for more essential minerals. While today's car models require about 50 pounds of copper for electrical wiring systems, for example, hybrid cars in the future might need around 75 pounds of copper. Those increased demands can also affect mineral prices. Between 2003 and 2006, for instance, the price of indium rose from about $100 per kilogram to $980 per kilogram, in part because of the growing need for indium in flat-screen TVs.

"If the supply of any of the minerals used in everyday products and services was curtailed, consumers and sectors of the U.S. economy could be significantly affected," the study said. "Although baseline information on minerals is collected at the federal level, there is currently no established methodology to identify critical minerals-those that are both important in use and for which there is a potential for supply restriction."