Notice2022-04027
2022 Final List of Critical Minerals
Primary source
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Published
February 24, 2022
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentGeological Survey
Abstract
By this notice, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), presents the 2022 final list of critical minerals and the methodology used to develop the list. The 2022 final list of critical minerals, which revises the final list published by the Secretary in 2018, includes the following 50 minerals: Aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barite, beryllium, bismuth, cerium, cesium, chromium, cobalt, dysprosium, erbium, europium, fluorspar, gadolinium, gallium, germanium, graphite, hafnium, holmium, indium, iridium, lanthanum, lithium, lutetium, magnesium, manganese, neodymium, nickel, niobium, palladium, platinum, praseodymium, rhodium, rubidium, ruthenium, samarium, scandium, tantalum, tellurium, terbium, thulium, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, ytterbium, yttrium, zinc, and zirconium.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 37 (Thursday, February 24, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 37 (Thursday, February 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10381-10382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04027]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Geological Survey
2022 Final List of Critical Minerals
AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: By this notice, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through
the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), presents the 2022
final list of critical minerals and the methodology used to develop the
list. The 2022 final list of critical minerals, which revises the final
list published by the Secretary in 2018, includes the following 50
minerals: Aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barite, beryllium, bismuth,
cerium, cesium, chromium, cobalt, dysprosium, erbium, europium,
fluorspar, gadolinium, gallium, germanium, graphite, hafnium, holmium,
indium, iridium, lanthanum, lithium, lutetium, magnesium, manganese,
neodymium, nickel, niobium, palladium, platinum, praseodymium, rhodium,
rubidium, ruthenium, samarium, scandium, tantalum, tellurium, terbium,
thulium, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, ytterbium, yttrium, zinc,
and zirconium.
ADDRESSES: Public comments received on the draft list of critical
minerals are available at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> under docket number DOI-
2021-0013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Mosley, (703) 648-6312,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f19b9c9e82949d88b184829682df969e87"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fd9790928e989184bd888e9a8ed39a928b">[email protected]</span></a>. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339
or dial 711 to contact Mr. Mosley during normal business hours. The FRS
is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or
question with this individual. You will receive a reply during normal
business hours. Normal business hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 7002 of the Energy Act
of 2020 (the Energy Act) (Pub. L. 116-260), on November 9, 2021, the
Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS), published in the Federal Register a draft
list of 50 mineral commodities proposed for inclusion on the Interior
Department's list of critical minerals and the methodology USGS used to
create the list. 86 FR 62199. The Federal Register notice provided for
a 30-day public comment period, which closed on December 9, 2021. On
December 14, 2021, the USGS published a notice in the Federal Register
extending the comment period by 32 days. 86 FR 71083. The public
comment period closed on January 10, 2022. The comments are available
for public viewing at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> under docket DOI-2021-0013.
Consistent with the methodology described in the November 2021 Federal
Register notice, the 2022 final list of critical minerals revises the
Interior Department's final list of critical minerals, which it
published in 2018 pursuant to Executive Order 13817--A Federal Strategy
to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals. 83 FR
23295.
USGS received 1,073 comments during the extended comment period and
received 4 letters after the comment period. Two comments were made
anonymously, 996 were from individuals, and 77 were submitted on behalf
of organizations. The comments included 91 requests to include specific
minerals, including copper, phosphate, silver, and lead, which also
were not on the 2018 final list, and helium, potash, and uranium, which
were on the 2018 final list, but not on the draft list. Many of the
comments requesting to include these specific minerals noted their
importance or provided other qualitative rationale for their inclusion.
However, the comments did not identify any inaccuracies in the data
used to conduct the quantitative evaluation in accordance with the
published USGS methodology, nor did they identify any single points of
failure. USGS applied the quantitative methodology to each of the
minerals requested for inclusion that were not on the draft list, and
per the criteria articulated in the Federal Register Notice publishing
the draft list at 86 FR 62199, a qualitative evaluation was conducted
only when other evaluations were not possible. After applying the
methodology, USGS determined that the minerals requested for inclusion
did not meet the criteria for inclusion on the final list.
There were 991 requests, the vast majority of which were form
comments, supporting the removal of uranium (included on the 2018 final
list) from the 2022 final list. The comments also included 5 requests
supporting the exclusion of other specific minerals, including copper,
helium, potash, rhenium, and strontium, none of which the USGS had
proposed for inclusion on the list. As noted above, USGS received
requests to include four minerals that other commenters also requested
to exclude: Copper, helium, potash, and uranium.
Some commenters took issue with USGS's reliance on the Mineral
Policy Act of 1970 to characterize uranium as a fuel mineral. Even
assuming the
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Mineral Policy Act of 1970 does not inform the meaning of ``fuel
mineral'' in the Energy Act, uranium nevertheless qualifies as a ``fuel
mineral'' under the latter statute. The Energy Act excludes ``fuel
minerals'' from the definition of critical minerals, and uranium is
used as a fuel: While uranium has important non-fuel uses, it is a
major fuel commodity in the United States.
Many public comments addressed issues not directly associated with
the development of the 2022 final list of critical minerals. Instead,
they addressed regulatory and policy issues. These comments will be
passed on to other agencies for appropriate consideration.
A small number of comments requested the addition of processed
mineral products that were not evaluated for inclusion on the list in
this cycle. These included high purity silicon metal and boron carbide,
for example, materials for which USGS does not have sufficient data to
evaluate at this stage. The USGS appreciates the input from
stakeholders and is identifying opportunities to include evaluation of
these and other minerals or mineral products in the next update of the
methodology.
The Department's list of critical minerals is not static and will
be reviewed at least every three years and revised as necessary to
reflect current data on supply, demand, and concentration of
production, as well as current policy priorities, as required under the
Energy Act. The 2022 final list of critical minerals was created using
the most recent available data for non-fuel minerals and the current
state of the methodology for evaluation of criticality.
The methodology used to develop the 2022 final list of critical
minerals is based on the definition of ``critical mineral'' and the
criteria specified in The Energy Act. The methodology was published by
the USGS in 2020 \1\ and 2021 \2\ and includes three evaluations: (1) A
quantitative evaluation of supply risk wherever sufficient data were
available, (2) a semi-quantitative evaluation of whether the supply
chain had a single point of failure, and (3) a qualitative evaluation
when other evaluations were not possible. The quantitative evaluation
uses (A) a net import reliance indicator of the dependence of the U.S.
manufacturing sector on foreign supplies, (B) an enhanced production
concentration indicator which focuses on production concentration
outside of the United States, and (C) weights for each producing
country's production contribution by its ability or willingness to
continue to supply the United States. Further details on the underlying
rationale and the specific approach, data sources, and assumptions used
to calculate each component of the supply risk metrics are described in
the references cited in this notice.
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\1\ Nassar, N.T., Brainard, J., Gulley, A., Manley, R., Matos,
G., Lederer, G., Bird, L.R., Pineault, D., Alonso, E., Gambogi, J.,
Fortier, S.M., 2020, Evaluating the mineral commodity supply risk of
the U.S. manufacturing sector Sci. Adv., 6(8) (2020), p. eaay8647,
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aay8647">https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aay8647</a>.
\2\ Nassar, N.T., and Fortier, S.M., 2021, Methodology and
technical input for the 2021 review and revision of the U.S.
Critical Minerals List: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report
2021-1045, 31 p., <a href="https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20211045">https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20211045</a>.
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Several comments addressed the overall methodology that USGS used
to develop the list, including assertions that the USGS should include
additional quantitative or qualitative factors. USGS appreciates these
suggestions and will consider them in future updates to the
methodology. However, the USGS did not find that any of the comments
identified technical flaws in the factors considered or data used in
the quantitative methodology that would warrant any changes in the
methodology.
After considering all comments received, the USGS believes that the
methodology described in USGS Open-File Report 2021-1045 (<a href="https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20211045">https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20211045</a>) remains a valid basis for the review and
revision of the list of critical minerals. Therefore, the USGS is
hereby finalizing the draft list of 50 critical minerals as the final
list. A listing of which critical minerals are predominantly recovered
as byproducts and further rationale for excluding copper, helium, lead,
phosphate, potash, rhenium, silver, strontium, and uranium from the
2022 final list of critical minerals are outlined in the draft list of
critical minerals published in the Federal Register at 86 FR 62199.
Host minerals for critical minerals that are predominantly recovered as
byproducts are identified in USGS Open-File Report 2021-1045, p. 11.
The U.S. Government and other organizations may also use other
definitions and rely on other criteria to identify a mineral as
critical. In addition, there are many minerals not on the 2022 final
list of critical minerals that are nevertheless important to the
economic and national security of the United States. This 2022 final
list of critical minerals is not intended to replace related terms and
definitions of minerals that are deemed strategic, critical or
otherwise important.
Authority: E.O. 13817, 82 FR 60835 (December 26, 2017) and The
Energy Act of 2020, Section 7002 of Title VII (December 27, 2020).
James D. Applegate,
Associate Director for Natural Hazards, Exercising the Delegated
Authority of the Director, U.S. Geological Survey.
[FR Doc. 2022-04027 Filed 2-22-22; 4:15 pm]
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