Version History for U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2019–1023–C

Focus Areas for Data Acquisition for Potential Domestic Resources of 11 Critical Minerals in Alaska—Aluminum, Cobalt, Graphite, Lithium, Niobium, Platinum Group Elements, Rare Earth Elements, Tantalum, Tin, Titanium, and Tungsten

By Douglas C. Kreiner and James V. Jones III
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First posted online September 17, 2020

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Revised and reposted July 14, 2022, as version 1.1

On the cover of the report and on page i, “Alaska Division of Geological and 
Geophysical Surveys” was changed to incorporate an ampersand such that it is now “Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys.”

On page i of the report, the following chapter information was added:

Chapter A of
Focus Areas for Data Acquisition for Potential Domestic
Sources of Critical Minerals
By U.S. Geological Survey

On page iii, the original preface was replaced by the following five paragraphs:

Pursuant to Presidential Executive Order (EO) 13817 of December 20, 2017, “A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals” (82 FR 60835–60837), the Secretary of the Interior directed the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in coordination with other Federal agencies, to draft a list of critical minerals. The USGS developed a draft list of 35 critical minerals using a quantitative screening tool (S.M. Fortier and others, 2018, USGS Open-File Report 2018–1021, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181021). The draft list of 35 minerals or mineral material groups deemed critical was finalized in May 2018 (83 FR 23295–23296), although the designation of “critical” will be reviewed at least every 3 years in accordance with the Energy Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–260, 134 Stat. 2565). A “critical mineral” is defined by EO 13817, section 2, as follows:

Definition. (a) A “critical mineral” is a mineral identified by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to subsection (b) of this section to be (i) a non-fuel mineral or mineral material essential to the economic and national security of the United States, (ii) the supply chain of which is vulnerable to disruption, and (iii) that serves an essential function in the manufacturing of a product, the absence of which would have significant consequences for our economy or our national security.

Disruptions in supply chains may arise for any number of reasons, including natural disasters, labor strife, trade disputes, resource nationalism, and conflict.

EO 13817 noted that “despite the presence of significant deposits of some of these minerals across the United States, our miners and producers are currently limited by a lack of comprehensive, machine-readable data concerning topographical, geological, and geophysical surveys.”

In response to the need for information on potential domestic sources of these critical minerals, the USGS launched the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI). The Earth MRI is a partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey, other Federal agencies, State geological surveys, and the private sector, and it is designed to acquire the national geologic framework information essential for identifying areas with potential for hosting the Nation’s critical mineral resources. The goal of the Earth MRI is to improve the geological, geophysical, and topographic mapping of the United States and to procure new data to stimulate mineral exploration to secure the Nation’s supply of critical minerals.