Defense Metals

Metals whose supply is treated as a defence-procurement concern — rare earths, antimony, tungsten, titanium among them.

Definition

Metals and minerals deemed essential for military and defense applications, including rare earths (for precision-guided weapons), titanium (aircraft), tungsten (ammunition), and cobalt (jet engines). Defense metals often appear on critical minerals lists due to national security implications.

Why it matters

Defence demand is small in tonnage but policy-driven and price-insensitive, and it has recently pulled funding toward antimony and tungsten projects that would otherwise struggle to finance.

See also

  • Antimony A critical mineral (Sb, atomic number 51) used in flame retardants, batteries, semiconductors, and ammunition.
  • Tungsten A dense, high-melting-point metal (W, atomic number 74) with critical applications in cutting tools, drill bit
  • Critical Minerals Minerals deemed essential to economic security and supply chain resilience, particularly for clean energy, def
  • Strategic Metals Metals considered essential for national defense, economic security, and critical infrastructure. Strategic me

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