Strategic Minerals
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Strategic minerals are materials that a government treats as vital to national defense, industry and essential civilian needs, especially in an emergency. The term has legal meaning that differs by country: the EU names 17 strategic raw materials, all of which are also critical, Australia keeps a separate Strategic Materials List of five, and the United States uses "strategic and critical materials" in its stockpile law. In 2025 the United States produced no titanium sponge at all and imported an estimated 44,000 tonnes, which shows what a strategic dependence looks like in practice.
17
strategic raw materials in Annex I of the EU Critical Raw Materials Act
Source: Regulation (EU) 2024/1252
1939
year the U.S. National Defense Stockpile was created; Congress added $2 billion to its transaction fund in 2025
0 t
of titanium sponge produced in the United States in 2025, against estimated imports of 44,000 tonnes
1 Jan 2027
date from which U.S. defense contractors may not supply covered magnets, tungsten and tantalum mined, refined or separated in China, Russia, Iran or North Korea
Source: 10 U.S.C. 4872
What does this section cover?
The four pages move from definition to dependency to government response. Read the definitions first, because the same word means different things in different laws.
| Page | Question it answers | Key figure |
|---|---|---|
| What Are Strategic Minerals? | How do the US, EU and Australia define the term? | EU 17 strategic raw materials; Australia 5 strategic materials |
| Defense and Aerospace Dependencies | Which weapon and aircraft systems depend on which minerals? | No U.S. titanium sponge production in 2025; China made about 70% of world sponge |
| Stockpiles and Strategic Reserves | What do governments hold and buy? | $2 billion added to the U.S. stockpile fund; $12 billion Project Vault planned |
| Strategic Projects and Permitting | How do governments speed up permits for designated projects? | EU limits of 27 months for extraction and 15 for processing and recycling |
Figures are taken from the linked pages, which cite USGS, EUR-Lex, U.S. statutes and government announcements.
How is a strategic mineral different from a critical one?
A critical mineral is judged on importance and supply risk, and a strategic mineral is judged on the purpose it serves. In the EU every strategic raw material is also critical, in Australia the strategic list is separate, and in the United States "critical mineral" and "strategic and critical materials" are two separate legal terms. The comparison page sets the definitions side by side, and the aerospace and defense materials page covers the same minerals mineral by mineral.
Frequently asked questions
What are strategic minerals?
Strategic minerals are materials a government treats as vital to national defense, industry and essential civilian needs. In U.S. law they are materials needed in a national emergency that are not found or produced in the United States in sufficient quantities.
How many strategic minerals does the EU have?
The EU Critical Raw Materials Act lists 17 strategic raw materials in Annex I, including copper, cobalt, gallium, germanium, lithium, nickel, tungsten and rare earths for permanent magnets. Every strategic raw material is also on the EU critical list.
What is the National Defense Stockpile?
The National Defense Stockpile is the U.S. government inventory of strategic and critical materials, created in 1939 and managed by the Defense Logistics Agency. Congress added $2 billion to its transaction fund in 2025.
Why do defense systems depend on imported minerals?
Many defense materials are produced abroad or refined only in a few countries. The United States produced no titanium sponge in 2025 and imported an estimated 44,000 tonnes, and from 1 January 2027 defense contractors face a ban on covered magnets, tungsten and tantalum from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Sources
Read on October 13, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1252, Annex I
- Inside Government Contracts: Federal push for critical minerals stockpiling (February 2026). Law firm summary of stockpile funding; the underlying statute is the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: titanium
- 10 U.S.C. 4872
