Mining
Data through 2025 · updatedWhich minerals the U.S. cannot do without and cannot dig up at home: how much of each it imports, from whom, and which ones Washington lists as critical, from the U.S. Geological Survey’s yearly Mineral Commodity Summaries.
ExposedThe U.S. imports all of its supply of 16 minerals. 27 of the 39 minerals it lists as critical are mostly imported, and China is the largest supplier of 18 of the minerals it imports.
Watch: China's export controls: it is the main source of U.S. imports of arsenic, cesium and natural graphite.
Biggest moves in import reliance, 2024 to 2025
- Magnesium metal▲+25 pts to 75%
- Rare earths, compounds and metals▲+14 pts to 67%
- Copper, refined▲+12 pts to 57%
- +5 more for members
Every headline number4 readings with their changes
About the dataUSGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · CC0 · yearly
Net import reliance is the share of U.S. apparent consumption met by imports: imports minus exports, plus changes in stocks, divided by what the country uses. 100% means the U.S. produced none; “>95%” is how the USGS writes a figure it rounds to protect company data. Critical minerals are those on the U.S. government’s list. Major import sources cover the four years before the data year.
Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries data release, U.S. Geological Survey.
How the takeaway is decided
- Import reliance is High when 10 or more minerals are 100% imported; a critical mineral is mostly imported when net imports are over 50% of use.
- China's share is High when it is the largest supplier of more than a third of the minerals listed.
The words and colours come from these rules, applied to the newest data on every update; they describe the data and are not advice.