USGS Mineral Resources Online Spatial Data (MRData)
Global catalog of mineral occurrences, geochemistry, and geophysics with download-ready shapefiles, grids, and tabular data feeds.
Access resourceCritical Minerals Resource Hub
We assembled a database spanning software installation notes, training channels, regulatory frameworks, financial levers, market reports, and peer-reviewed research so teams can move from prospecting to deployment without reinventing the brief.
Installation & Toolchain
Global catalog of mineral occurrences, geochemistry, and geophysics with download-ready shapefiles, grids, and tabular data feeds.
Access resourceProgram portal that explains each mineral dataset, schema, and access path so teams know how to ingest MRData into their GIS stacks.
Access resourceInteractive map highlighting per-country production shares, end-uses, and vulnerabilities across every USGS-designated critical mineral.
Access resourceNETL-led Process Optimization and Modeling for Minerals Sustainability initiative that houses flowsheet, TEA, and supply-chain analytics.
Access resourceReadTheDocs site with installation instructions, dependency management, tutorial notebooks, and API references for PrOMMiS modules.
Access resourceAmes Lab hub for DREEM, ParFit, HostDesigner, and LOGKPREDICT with download links, licensing notes, and build directions.
Access resourceVideo primer that teaches new analysts how to apply the Geologic Map Schema (GeMS) standard inside exploration pipelines.
Access resourceTraining & Workshops
Monthly Ames Lab webinars covering exploration, processing, substitution, recycling, and microbiological extraction with slide decks and replays.
Access resourceDOE Office of Manufacturing & Energy Supply Chains calendar of workshops on domestic critical minerals, processing finance, and industrial engagement.
Access resourceYouTube replay of DOE’s national lab workshop that outlines federal engagement pathways and technology readiness expectations.
Access resourceUSGS program explainer detailing geophysical surveys, airborne campaigns, and mapping workflows targeting U.S. critical mineral belts.
Access resourceShort training video that walks new staff through the USGS catalogs and download pipelines without drowning in acronyms.
Access resourceInternational Energy Agency landing zone for the Global Critical Minerals Outlook, policy tracker, and data explorer webinars.
Access resourceRegulatory & Policy Stack
Defines “critical” per the Energy Act of 2020 and documents the methodology behind each triennial USGS list.
Access resourceFederal Register notice codifying the 2022 list and the evaluation criteria used across agencies.
Access resourceDOI announcement outlining the proposed 2025 additions (copper, silver, silicon, uranium, lead, phosphate, potash, metallurgical coal, boron, rhenium).
Access resourceConfirms the adopted list and signals the policy priorities driving DOE, DOI, and DOD investments this decade.
Access resourceCongressional Research Service report summarizing national policy considerations, supply risk metrics, and agency roles.
Access resourceInteragency blueprint with six calls to action, 24 goals, and 61 recommendations on data, permitting, R&D, and workforce.
Access resourceWhite House NSTC hub that aggregates DOE, DOI, DOD, EPA, and USGS programs plus latest executive actions.
Access resourceOutlines DOE’s three enduring pillars: diversify supply, develop substitutes, and improve reuse and recycling.
Access resourceLanding page for DOE’s CMM Program, including program pillars, partner links, and funding opportunities.
Access resourceTax Incentives & Financial Levers
Explains eligibility, credit values, and domestic-processing requirements for critical minerals produced in the United States.
Access resourceTwo-page CRS brief describing scope, stacking limits, and implementation status for the 45X production credit.
Access resourceGuidance on claiming 48C for re-equipping, expanding, or establishing processing, refining, or recycling facilities.
Access resourceProgram details, application windows, and energy-community allocations for critical materials projects competing for 48C credits.
Access resourceCompilation of DOE-funded pilot plants, demonstrations, and R&D projects spanning unconventional feedstocks and circularity.
Access resourceNews summary of the 2025 federal budget proposal signaling almost $1B in new funding for critical minerals and materials programs.
Access resourceKey Reports & Technical Docs
Evaluates 37 candidate materials, quantifies supply risk, and ties each mineral to priority energy technologies.
Access resourceCMM Program vision deck highlighting four pillars: diversify supply, develop alternatives, build circularity, and improve performance.
Access resourceMulti-year milestones focused on unconventional and secondary resources, databases, and CORE-CM best practices.
Access resourceCentral index for MRData, mineral commodity summaries, and national minerals information center datasets.
Access resourceMining Engineering Magazine reprint summarizing USGS mapping, assessment, and Earth MRI outputs for FY23.
Access resourceScenario-based demand and supply outlook for 37 minerals across EVs, wind, solar, storage, and grids.
Access resourceUSGS, Geoscience Australia, and Geoscience Canada collaboration focused on global mapping standards and shared datasets.
Access resourceAcademic Papers
Balaram’s comprehensive review of REE applications, occurrences, analysis methods, recycling pathways, and environmental considerations.
Access resourceSpringer paper outlining deposit models, exploration tactics, and resource distribution for REEs.
Access resourceScienceDirect open-access paper evaluating resilience levers, policy interventions, and risk metrics across supply chains.
Access resourceUSGS publication 70254779 summarizing survey activities, new assessments, and methodological advances.
Access resourceReview paper covering how machine learning accelerates targeting, geophysical interpretation, and prospectivity modeling.
Access resourceResources for the Future report linking geopolitical dynamics to supply-chain resilience planning.
Access resourceBlogs, Commentary & Videos
Breaks down why adding copper, silver, and others matters for trade, allies, and industrial policy.
Access resourceIndependent commentary dissecting the assumptions behind IEA’s latest market outlook.
Access resourceExplains the market signal when the U.S. formally moved copper and silver onto the critical minerals list in 2025.
Access resourceCovers the Pentagon’s plan to seed small-footprint refineries so defense supply chains have dependable feedstock.
Access resourceStory on the Silicon Ridge discovery and what it implies for U.S. domestic resource diversity.
Access resourceExplainer on SRI’s AI and sensing research aimed at accelerating discoveries with less field time.
Access resourceYouTube briefing on how DOE labs engage with industry via user facilities, cooperative agreements, and pilot plants.
Access resourceDOE Critical Minerals Roadmap
DOE’s critical minerals roadmap is iterative rather than a single glossy PDF: the 2021 Critical Materials Strategy provides the policy spine (diversify supply, develop substitutes, improve reuse/recycling) while every subsequent document updates deployment tactics.
The 2023 Critical Materials Assessment functions as the analytical engine, refreshing which materials are most at risk as EV, grid, storage, and hydrogen demand curves move.
Building Secure Supply Chains for America’s Energy Future (January 2025) translates that analysis into four execution pillars and names enablers like AI, standards, and pilot plants.
The Minerals Sustainability Multi-Year Program Plan extends the horizon to ~2035 with milestones for unconventional feedstocks, federated databases, and CORE-CM best practices that can cover half of U.S. demand domestically.
The Critical Materials Collaborative coordinates labs, universities, and industry on a 10-year R&D roadmap so substitution, circularity, and processing breakthroughs feed directly into CMM program milestones.
Anchors DOE’s decade-long pillars: diversify supply, develop substitutes, and scale reuse plus recycling across energy technologies.
Read documentQuantifies importance vs. supply risk for 22 priority materials feeding EVs, batteries, magnets, solar, wind, and hydrogen sectors.
Read documentSpells out four execution pillars plus cross-cutting enablers like AI, sensing, and pilot/demonstration facilities.
Read documentTargets 2035 milestones for unconventional feedstocks, federated databases, and CORE-CM best-practice manuals.
Read documentOutlines the 10-year collaborative research roadmap spanning supply, processing, alternatives, and circularity.
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