US drafts 2025 critical minerals list, Kazakhstan’s opportunities

Under the Energy Act of 2020, the list is reviewed every three years, taking into account supply risks and the strategic importance of each resource. The draft list is published in the Federal Register for a 30-day public comment period.

The USGS recommends adding six minerals: potash, silicon, copper, silver, rhenium, and lead, while removing two: arsenic and tellurium. In addition, at the White House’s request, the agency will also study whether uranium and metallurgical coal should be considered for inclusion.

Full list

Aluminum, antimony, barite, beryllium, bismuth, cerium, cesium, chromium, cobalt, copper, dysprosium, erbium, europium, fluorspar, gadolinium, gallium, germanium, graphite, hafnium, holmium, indium, iridium, lanthanum, lead, lithium, lutetium, magnesium, manganese, neodymium, nickel, niobium, palladium, platinum, potash, praseodymium, rhenium, rhodium, rubidium, ruthenium, samarium, scandium, silicon, silver, tantalum, terbium, thulium, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, ytterbium, yttrium, zinc, zirconium.

For its assessment, experts modeled more than 1,200 scenarios involving trade restrictions on 84 mineral commodities and estimated their potential impact on the U.S. economy. Outcomes ranged from losses of nearly $4.5 billion to slight gains of $33 million. The greatest risks are tied to rare earth elements, most of which are mined in China, as well as platinum, palladium, and rhodium from South Africa.

Kazakhstan’s reserves

Kazakhstan is one of the few countries with substantial reserves of the very minerals the USGS recommended adding to the 2025 Critical Minerals List. These include potash, silicon, copper, silver, rhenium, and lead. Overall, of the 54 minerals identified as critical for the U.S., Kazakhstan has proven reserves or active production of roughly half, about 25 to 27 of them.

Copper: The country is among the world’s largest producers, accounting for nearly 4% of global supply. In 2023, Kazakhstan ranked 11th worldwide in reserves with 20 million tons and 11th in production with 600,000 tons.

Lead: According to an AIFC mining industry review, Kazakhstan holds almost 3% of the global lead market. In 2021, it ranked 8th in reserves with 2 million tons and 12th in production with 40,000 tons.

Silver: Kazakhstan’s share of the global silver market is about 2.7%. USGS data show that in 2023 the country ranked 10th in production with 990 tons. Kazakh Invest also reports that Kazakhstan has the world’s third-largest silver reserves.

Silicon: In 2024, Kazakhstan ranked 7th in global silicon production, producing 137,000 tons, or 1.4% of the world’s total.

Aluminum: The country ranks 11th in bauxite (aluminum) reserves.

Kazakhstan also holds leading global reserves of chromium, uranium, barite, and manganese, and has promising deposits of rare earth elements (REEs). The country produces beryllium, tantalum, niobium, scandium, titanium, rhenium, and osmium, while bismuth, antimony, selenium, and tellurium are extracted as by-products. Technologies are also in place for gallium and indium recovery.

Proven REE reserves are continuously updated. According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development, geologists have conducted exploration at 11 sites since 2022 and mapped deposits containing REEs such as beryllium, yttrium, niobium, tungsten, gallium, and cesium. Preliminary estimates suggest these sites may hold 23,800 tons of beryllium, 600 tons of tungsten, 60,690 tons of yttrium, 200 tons of niobium, 7,000 tons of molybdenum, and 33,480 tons of gallium.

Earlier, Kazinform News Agency reported that Kazakhstan and the EBRD plan to strengthen cooperation on critical minerals and sustainable infrastructure.