Critical minerals (Part 1): A collector’s guide to Earth’s most strategic resources
Michael C Mackiewicz (USA)
This is the first of several articles on the Top 10 critical minerals. ‘Critical minerals’ is a relatively modern term that will be explained in this article.
Minerals that shaped civilizations
Minerals have played a central role in human development for thousands of years. From the use of native copper and gold in early tools and ornaments to the extraction of iron and tin during the Bronze Age, mineral resources have long been essential to technological progress. However, the term ‘critical minerals’ is a relatively recent classification. It refers to minerals that are economically and strategically important and have supply chains vulnerable to disruption.
Not all countries or regions define the same minerals as critical, but most maintain lists of materials essential to national security, clean energy, and advanced technologies. The United States currently identifies 54 critical minerals, followed by the European Union with 34, Australia with 26, China with 24, and the United Kingdom with 18. Africa’s list varies by country, although the African Union highlights around 30 key resources.
These lists often include lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements, minerals that underpin global supply chains and are vital to sectors like electronics, defence, medicine, and renewable energy. While the idea of strategic materials dates back to World Wars I and II, the formal classification of critical minerals gained momentum in the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries, shaped by digital innovation and geopolitical shifts. Interestingly, many of these minerals also occur in striking crystal forms, making them prized by mineral collectors, enthusiasts and museums, as well as industries.
Elements, minerals and critical minerals
While it is technically incorrect to call elements like lithium, cobalt, or nickel ‘minerals’ in a strict geological sense, the term “critical minerals” has become widely accepted in policy, industrial and economic contexts. Geologically speaking, a mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic, crystalline solid with a defined chemical composition and internal structure.
Most critical elements, such as lithium (Li), vanadium (V), or rare earth elements (REEs), do not occur in nature as pure substances. Instead, they are chemically bound within true minerals like Spodumene (Li), Vanadinite (V), or Bastnäsite (REEs). Some elements, like graphite (C) or native bismuth (Bi), do qualify as minerals themselves, but most are extracted from mineral compounds rather than found in elemental form. So, while calling lithium a “mineral” is geologically inaccurate, it reflects a practical shorthand for the element’s source and significance.
The term “critical minerals” is not defined by mineralogy but by strategic importance. A material is considered critical if it is essential to modern technologies or national security, has a supply chain vulnerable to disruption, and lacks easy substitutes in manufacturing. The focus is on the element’s function, such as lithium in batteries or tungsten in aerospace alloys, rather than the mineral species it is hosted in.
This classification intentionally includes both true minerals and the elements they contain, recognising their economic and technological roles. For collectors and enthusiasts, it is useful to understand that, while the term may not be scientifically correct, it highlights the real-world value of the elements contained within mineral crystals and why those minerals matter beyond their aesthetic appeal.
The Top 10 critical minerals: properties, occurrences and geological context
This article provides a general overview of ten widely recognised critical minerals: materials deemed essential due to their global economic importance and supply chain vulnerabilities. These include lithium, cobalt, nickel, rare earth elements (REEs), graphite, manganese, tungsten, vanadium, bismuth and antimony.
Each plays a vital role in sectors such as clean energy, defence, electronics, and advanced manufacturing. Following this introduction, subsequent articles will examine each of these minerals in greater detail, exploring their beauty and interest by mineral enthusiasts, and to their strategic importance across multiple commercial and manufacturing enterprises.
A mineral is considered critical when it meets three criteria:
1. Economic importance: it is essential for manufacturing or infrastructure.
2. Supply risk: its production is concentrated in a few countries or regions.
3. Lack of substitutes: few or no alternatives exist for its applications.
Some critical minerals form well-defined crystals that are highly sought after by collectors.
| MINERAL | PRIMARY ROCK TYPE(S) | COMMON HOST MINERALS |
| Lithium | Pegmatite (Igneous) | Spodumene, Lepidolite |
| Cobalt | Sedimentary, Metamorphic | Cobaltite, Erythrite |
| Nickel | Ultramafic Igneous | Pentlandite, Garnierite |
| Rare Earth Elements | Igneous (Carbonatite, Pegmatite) | Bastnäsite, Monazite, Xenotime |
| Graphite | Metamorphic | Graphite flakes in schist |
| Manganese | Sedimentary | Rhodochrosite, Pyrolusite |
| Tungsten | Igneous, Metamorphic | Scheelite, Wolframite |
| Vanadium | Sedimentary, Igneous | Vanadinite, Carnotite |
| Bismuth | Hydrothermal (Igneous) | Native Bismuth, Bismuthinite |
| Antimony | Hydrothermal | Stibnite, Valentinite |
Mineral collecting and field exploration
Mineral collectors are often drawn to minerals for their colour, crystal habit, and rarity with many of the Top 10 critical minerals listed being admired for their natural beauty.
- Lithium occurs in pink or lilac crystals such as spodumene and lepidolite.
- Cobalt is found in vivid red minerals like erythrite.
- Nickel appears in brass-yellow millerite or green garnierite, and REEs are hosted in reddish or brown crystals like bastnäsite and monazite.
- Graphite forms shiny gray plates.
- Manganese is well known for pink rhodochrosite and black pyrolusite.
- Tungsten shows up in white orange scheelite and black wolframite, both valued for their density and fluorescence.
- Vanadium is present in bright red vanadinite crystals.
- Bismuth often forms rainbow-coloured hopper crystals when refined.
- Antimony creates striking silver-grey blades in stibnite.
These minerals are frequently displayed in museums and prized by collectors for their aesthetic qualities, as well as their strategic roles in clean energy, electronics and defence applications.
Mineral profiles: collectible beauty and strategic value
Connecting mineral collectors, scientific understanding, and real-world applications, we turn to examples of three of the Top 10 critical minerals: Spodumene, Erythrite, and Stibnite (Figs. 1 to 3). Each show how minerals can be both visually beautiful and economically important. They appeal to collectors for their colour, crystal shape and rarity, while being globally important because they contain elements used in batteries, electronics, and other advanced technologies. Subsequent articles will discuss each of the Top 10 critical minerals separately.
These three examples, along with other critical minerals, will be explored in future articles, each focusing on one mineral at a time. Each article will highlight its physical and chemical properties, its appeal to collectors and industrial users, the challenges of mining and refining it, and its expanding role in modern technologies and global policy frameworks.
Comparing reported reserves and confirmed mining operations
Fig. 4 (Global Distribution of Critical Mineral Reserves) provides a generalised overview of where reserves of critical minerals are reportedly located across the globe. While this map offers insight into the geological distribution of key resources, it is important to note that the presence of reserves does not guarantee their economic extractability. Factors such as the quality (grade) of the mineral deposit and reserve volume, infrastructure, environmental constraints, as well as geopolitical stability of the region often determine whether mining is economically feasible.
The map employs a colour-coded scheme to highlight each country’s unique mineral profile, shading nations according to the number of critical minerals, drawn from a Top 10 list that are identified within their regions. These minerals, which include lithium, cobalt, nickel, rare earth elements, graphite, vanadium, antimony, tungsten, tin and manganese, are essential for modern technologies such as batteries, solar panels, magnets, and aerospace components.
Countries with fewer identified minerals are represented by lighter tones, while darker colours indicate regions with greater numbers of different critical minerals. The legend is organised from top to bottom, beginning with countries reportedly having the fewest different critical minerals and progressing toward those with the most.
For mineral collectors, geoscience enthusiasts, and professionals alike, Fig. 4 offers a broad overview of mineralogical significance. One notable insight is that nearly every country is shaded, suggesting widespread geological potential. However, this representation may overstate the practical availability of these resources, as it includes reserves that are not currently being mined or may never be economically viable.
In contrast, Figure 5 (Global distribution of actively mined critical minerals) presents a more realistic view of global critical mineral production. This visualisation focuses exclusively on countries with active, ongoing mining operations for the same Top 10 critical minerals. Unlike Fig. 4, which includes any country with reported reserves, Fig. 5 filters for active extraction, offering a clearer picture of where potential or unconfirmed mineral reserves may be located as opposed to where ongoing active critical mineral mining occurs.
Summary
From pink spodumene to the metallic lustre of stibnite, critical minerals are not only vital to modern technologies but are also captivating to collectors and geoscience enthusiasts. This article briefly explores ten of the most strategically important minerals, briefly highlighting their geological origins, crystal forms, and roles in sectors like clean energy, electronics and defence. Through mineral images and two comparative global maps of critical minerals reserve, readers are invited to examine both the widespread presence of reported reserves (Fig. 4) and the more realistic distribution of actively mined deposits (Fig. 5).
The contrast between potential and production underscores the importance of mineral deposit quality and reserve volume, infrastructure necessary to support mining operations and transport, and the geopolitical stability of the region. This overview on critical minerals sets the stage for future articles that will examine individual minerals from the Top 10 list, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, rare earth elements, graphite, vanadium, antimony, tungsten, tin, and manganese, exploring their mineralogical appeal to collectors and enthusiasts, and to the global importance of these ‘critical minerals’.
About the author
Michael C Mackiewicz is Professor of Geology, Adjunct at Southern New Hampshire University, USA. He can be contacted at M.mackiewicz@snhu.edu.
References and further reading
U.S. Geological Survey. (2023). Mineral Commodity Summaries. https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2023/
European Commission. (2023). Critical Raw Materials Act. https://ec.europa.eu/
Mindat.org. (2024). Mineral Database. https://www.mindat.org/
Geology.com. (2024). Critical Minerals Explained. https://geology.com/
British Geological Survey. (2022). Risk List 2022. https://www.bgs.ac.uk/
Harlow, G. E. (2018). Minerals: Their Constitution and Origin. Cambridge University Press.
King, H. (2020). Mineral Collecting for Beginners. Geology.com.
Möller, P. (2019). Rare Earth Elements: Geochemistry and Mineralogy. Springer.
World Population Review. (2025). Cobalt production by country. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cobalt-production-by-country
- U.S. Geological Survey. (2025). Rare Earths Statistics and Information. National Minerals Information Center. Retrieved from USGS Rare Earths
- Rezaei, M., Sanchez-Lecuona, G., & Abdolazimi, O. (2025). A Cross-Disciplinary Review of Rare Earth Elements: Deposit Types, Mineralogy, Machine Learning, Environmental Impact, and Recycling. Minerals, 15(7), 720. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15070720
- Chen, P., Ilton, E. S., Wang, Z., Rosso, K. M., & Zhang, X. (2025). Global rare earth element resources: A concise review. OSTI.GOV. Retrieved from OSTI Rare Earth Review
- RRUFF Project. (n.d.). RRUFF Database of Raman spectra, X-ray diffraction and chemistry of minerals. Retrieved November 7, 2025, from https://rruff.info
- Mindat.org. (n.d.). Mineral information and data. Retrieved November 7, 2025, from https://www.mindat.org