The Interior Department on Thursday announced an updated critical minerals list that includes metallurgical coal and both phosphate and potash, two key ingredients for common fertilizers.
The final 2025 list also includes boron, copper, lead, rhenium, silicon, silver and uranium. Maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey, the list was created with input from the Agriculture, Defense and Energy departments.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement that the updated list “provides a clear, data-driven road map to reduce our dependence on foreign adversaries, expand domestic production and unleash American innovation.”
“By working with the mineral industry and state partners, we are ensuring that the minerals powering our energy, defense and technology supply chains are mined and processed in the United States, which is becoming a mineral powerhouse once again,” Burgum said.
The list, created during President Donald Trump’s first term and codified in a 2020 law, must be revised every three years. Under law the list must include minerals that are essential to economic and national security, and have a vulnerable supply chain.
Projects to mine, produce or recycle minerals on the list can qualify for tax credits under laws including the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, consideration for Energy Department loans and grants, and streamlined permitting through the FAST-41 program established by a 2015 law.
In September a bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote to Burgum urging him to add phosphate to the list in order to ensure that future supply chain disruptions wouldn’t impact American farmers.
The law outlining the list requires it to only include nonfuel minerals.
Metallurgical coal was included for its role in steel production. Environmental groups objected. In public comments a coalition including Earthjustice, Public Citizen and the Sierra Club said coal exports show there is neither risk of a supply disruption nor barriers to production.
Uranium was also included, despite its fuel applications, due to its defense uses.
The USGS proposed with its initial list in August dropping arsenic and tellurium, but kept both on the list after the Defense Department said they remain important for national security.
House Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., said in a statement the administration “is highlighting the importance of critical minerals in powering our economy, national security, and everyday lives.”
“I look forward to working with administration partners on increasing domestic mining and securing our mineral supply chains to reduce reliance on foreign adversaries like China,” Westerman said.
https://rollcall.com/2025/11/06/interior-adds-phosphate-potash-to-final-critical-minerals-list/