CMI Critical Minerals List 2025: A Strategic Wake-Up Call for Global Tech and Security

Highlights

• The Critical Minerals Institute released a strategic list of 23 minerals deemed essential for global technological, economic, and defense resilience.
• The list emphasizes the urgent need for transnational cooperation.
• The list addresses rising geopolitical tensions in mineral supply chains.
• Rare Earth Exchanges supports the CMI’s call to action.
• Importance of aligning U.S. industrial and defense policy with emerging mineral realities is highlighted.

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Rare Earth Exchanges (REE) commends the Critical Minerals Institute (CMI) for its release of the CMI Critical Minerals List 2025, an evidence-driven, strategically curated selection of 23 minerals deemed essential for global technological, economic, and defense resilience. Drawing from a comprehensive analysis of 12 critical minerals lists from major global economies and alliances, the CMI list identifies minerals like copper, beryllium, uranium, and rare earth elements (REEs) as foundational—not optional—for the future of advanced industry and national security.

In her important feature, Breaking the CMI Critical MineralsList 2025: A Strategic Blueprint for Global Technology, Defense, and Economic Security (opens in a new tab), CMI Executive Director Tracy Hughes underscores the urgency of transnational cooperation. As Hughes states, “Collaboration across industries and borders is no longer optional, it’s imperative.” Co-authored and led by CMI Director Alastair Neill, the list is a pragmatic response to rising geopolitical tensions, electrification-driven demand, and growing concern over China’s stranglehold on critical mineral supply chains. The methodology—prioritizing minerals found on at least seven of twelve national lists—offers a credible blueprint for resource prioritization and investment.

The implications for U.S. industrial strategy are profound. From semiconductors and AI infrastructure to energy transition and national defense, these minerals are the lifeblood of 21st-century economies. For Rare Earth Exchanges, whose mission is to advance price transparency, trading efficiency, and supply chain resilience in rare earth and critical mineral markets around the world and domestically in the United States, the release of this list reinforces the need for robust data infrastructure, modernized spot markets, and strategic mineral intelligence. “This isn’t just a list—it’s a call to action,” said a spokesperson for REE. “We must align U.S. industrial and defense policy with this new mineral reality, or risk economic subjugation.”

As global stakeholders prepare for CMI Summit IV, the CMI leadership—Hughes, Neill, Sanderson, Lifton, and others—has drawn a line in the sand: cooperate, innovate, or fall behind. U.S. federal agencies, industry, and investors can use this list as a strategic asset. The road to mineral independence and technological leadership begins with clarity, and CMI’s list certainly helps.

Several important dimensions are also important. First, what concrete quantitative data on supply-demand imbalances can we glean from the market today? Readers would benefit from specific projections: tonnage shortfalls, production declines, or anticipated demand spikes through 2030. Such figures help build actionable intelligence.

While global interdependence remains absolutely vital, a more detailed and nuanced understanding of U.S. industrial and policy responses becomes paramount. A clearer assessment of America’s current refining, mining, and processing capabilities—along with any pending legislation or federal incentives—helps contextualize how aligned the U.S. is with the strategic urgency outlined by the Critical Minerals Institute.

Rare Earth Exchanges’ evolving Projects Directory and other resources over time can help with private-sector readiness. Profiles of leading companies, recent mining projects, or successful public-private ventures will demonstrate momentum and offer replicable models.

What are the emerging technologies to help?  Here, this would include mineral recycling, advanced processing, or substitution research—all vital to reducing dependency on vulnerable supply chains. What about financial and ESG risks, which are central to investor decision-making in the critical minerals space?

These include not just environmental harm but also reputational liability and regulatory hurdles.

Finally, Rare Earth Exchanges raises the following question: What is a clear timeline for action? We need a better sense of risk, whether the risks are acute or long-term, and what milestones governments or industries should aim for in the next 2 to 10 years.