Westerman Statement on Draft Critical Minerals List

This week, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), through the United States Geological Survey (USGS), released its draft 2025 List of Critical Minerals. House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) released the following statement in response:

"This week's announcement reinforces the importance of critical minerals and their supply chains in our everyday lives. The minerals on the draft list are crucial for energy production, technology, defense and other important economic sectors that keep our nation energy dominant and competitive. I look forward to continuing to work with the Trump administration to ensure that USGS's critical minerals list reflects the best available science and data as we seek to expand domestic mineral production and reduce our reliance on foreign adversaries for these important resources."

Background

Following President Trump's 2017 Executive Order 13817, "A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals," DOI, through USGS, published an initial list of 35 critical minerals in 2018. Today's announcement of the updated draft list expands that list to 54 mineral commodities and lays out a plan for addressing vulnerabilities in their supply chains.

The House Committee on Natural Resources has held oversight hearings in both the 118th and 119th Congresses on the importance of domestic mining and supporting mineral supply chains.