Minerals a government has designated as essential to its economy or defence and vulnerable to supply disruption.
Minerals deemed essential to economic security and supply chain resilience, particularly for clean energy, defense, and technology applications. Lists vary by country but commonly include lithium, cobalt, rare earths, graphite, and other battery and technology metals.
Designation is a policy instrument, not a geological one, but it moves real money: permitting priority, grants and offtake support increasingly follow the lists. A project's inclusion can change its financing options.
The lists differ between jurisdictions and are revised periodically. A company describing its metal as critical may be citing a list that does not apply where it operates.
108 terms have their own page: the definition, why it matters to an investor, where it shows up in practice, and the mistake people make with it.