This is the landing page for all of Silverado's work on critical minerals. It contains policy analysis, recommendations, and data dashboards that cover various countries and sectors.

Geopolitical

Webinar: Elements of Control (July 2025)

Members of Silverado Policy Accelerator's Research & Analysis team and WireScreen collaborated in co-hosting a webinar that explored China's dominance of the critical mineral refining industry, and the ties between government, the defense industrial base, and major players in cobalt, lithium, and tantalum.

Elevated Thoughts Podcast: Who Controls Critical Minerals? (April 2025)

Silverado's Mahnaz Khan shared her critical mineral expertise as a guest on the Elevated Thoughts podcast, where she explained the central role critical minerals play in the U.S. economy. She discussed the risks stemming from U.S. dependence on China's control of the critical mineral market and outlined potential frameworks for reducing U.S. vulnerabilities in this strategic sector.

Webinar: Vision for a New Critical Minerals Trade Policy Amid an Escalating Trade War (January 2025)

Silverado frames both the domestic and global critical mineral landscape by providing a comprehensive overview of U.S. reliance on critical minerals. The analysis also highlights China's commanding position in the global market and outlines potential frameworks to address and mitigate U.S. vulnerabilities in securing critical mineral supply chains.

What's Next for China's Critical Minerals Hit List? (January 2025)

Silverado addresses how China has intensified its weaponization of critical mineral supply chains, targeting minerals essential to U.S. semiconductor and defense industries. It provides data on Chinese export controls and offers recommendations for a strategy to counter China's efforts to cut off critical mineral supplies to the United States.

International and Trade Policy:

Silicon Valley Minerals Forum 2025 - Panel: "International Collaboration: Doing Business in Difficult Places" (June 2025)

Silverado's VP of Policy, Mahnaz Khan, spoke on a panel at Stanford University's Mineral X alongside:

• Gracelin Baskaran, Director, Critical Minerals Security Program, CSIS
• Scott Woodard, Acting DAS for Energy Competitiveness and Supply Chains, U.S. State Department
• Moderator: Tony Carroll, Nonresident Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Mineral Security (MinSec) Trade Policy Framework (January 2025)

Silverado introduced the Mineral Security Trade Policy (MinSec) Framework. It serves as a roadmap for securing vital resources and beginning to break China’s tightening grip on global supply chains. This framework provides a step-by-step process for rapidly securing critical mineral agreements with trusted partners.

Event Briefing: Strengthening Transatlantic Mineral Cooperation (June 2025)

Silverado, The Embassy of Republic of Poland, and The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) co-hosted “Strengthening Transatlantic Minerals Cooperation for a Resilient and Competitive Economy”– a high-level convening focused on advancing U.S.-EU collaboration on critical minerals through innovation in processing and recovery.

Domestic Policy:

Silverado Comments on Section 232 National Security Investigation: Critical Minerals (May 2025)

These are the comments Silverado submitted to the U.S. Department of Commerce on the Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Processed Critical Minerals and Derivative Products. The analysis begins by using the Strategic Defense Critical Minerals list, along with a select group of other dual-use minerals to identify those most at risk. An analysis is then conducted of how China has distorted global critical mineral markets, using the rare earth element market as a case study.

International Trade Administration: Environmental Technologies Trade Advisory Committee (ETTAC) Submission (July 2025)

Silverado contributed to the drafting of ETTAC's recommendations on "Bolstering U.S. Supplies of Critical Minerals." These recommendations emphasize advancing domestic mineral processing and circularity, fostering the development of a responsible commodity market, and strengthening international partnerships. They also underscore the need for a unified strategy that brings together policymakers and industry leaders to secure and sustain U.S. critical mineral supply chains.

Comments to USTR on Promoting Supply Chain Resilience (April 2024)

Silverado submitted comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), recommending targeted actions, including the prioritization of key supply chains such as critical minerals. Among the recommendations was a call for USTR to direct the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) to initiate Section 332 Fact-Finding Investigations in those prioritized supply chains.

Mining: An Unavoidable Reality for Achieving Climate and Technology Objectives (December 2022)

This piece argues that focusing on critical minerals as an early action item can mitigate supply chain challenges and put the Western Hemisphere in a globally competitive position in this sector, with far-reaching benefits for economic and national security.

Quad:

Fortifying Minerals Diplomacy: Four Nations, Four Solutions (June 2025)

This article, published in The Foreign Service Journal, proposes a framework for how the Quad partner countries could help secure critical mineral supply chain vulnerabilities. It offers policy recommendations and an overall strategy for how these countries should move forward collectively.

Policy Recommendations on Enhancing U.S.-India Critical Minerals Collaboration (June 2024)

Based on research and discussions during a roundtable on “Enhancing U.S.-India Critical Minerals Collaboration,” Silverado, P2P Strategies, and USISPF developed a set of policy recommendations aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation on critical minerals supply chain resiliency.

*Accompanying Dashboard: India Critical Minerals Dashboard (June 2024)

This dashboard presents data on minerals mined in India, their applications in the United States, U.S. net import reliance, India’s share of global production, and India’s share of global reserves.

Strategic Defense Critical Minerals (Includes Rare Earth Elements):

Silverado's Comments to the Department of Interior on Arsenic (September 2025)

Silverado submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Interior for the reinstatement of arsenic to the 2025 Critical Minerals List.

Tantalum: The Global Supply Chain (September 2025)

Silverado Policy Accelerator produced a data report on tantalum, a little-known mineral essential for jet engines, semiconductors, and consumer electronics. The report highlights U.S. supply chain strengths- including sourcing from an ally (Australia), a major domestic refinery, a large secondary industry, and downstream production- while also noting global vulnerabilities. In particular, China dominates tantalum refining, and Africa is playing an increasingly central role in production (led by the DRC, Nigeria, and Rwanda), where conflict-related risks threaten supply stability.

China's Global Exports of Rare Earth Elements and Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (September 2025)

This dashboard provides data on China's global exports of rare earth metals, compounds, and magnets. It also provides key dates that give context to the evolving policy measures implemented by China.

Strategic Defense Critical Minerals (September 2024)

Silverado used a geopolitical and national security lens to analyze the three U.S. government critical minerals lists to drive action where the need is most acute. What emerged is a "strategic defense critical minerals" grouping, which identifies 12 minerals that pose the greatest risk to U.S. national security. The 12 strategic defense critical minerals include antimony, arsenic, bismuth, gallium, germanium, indium, natural graphite, rare earth elements, scandium, tantalum, tungsten, and yttrium.

Strategic Defense Critical Mineral Global Production Dashboard (March 2025)

This dashboard illustrates U.S. import reliance on the minerals identified by Silverado as “strategic defense critical minerals.” It also highlights how much refining and/or processing occurs in other countries, including China and Russia.

Dual-Use Critical Minerals (Including Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Manganese)

Dual-Use Critical Mineral Global Production Dashboard (May 2025)

This dashboard shows mining, refining, and in some cases, product production, as well as global consumption by sector, of what Silverado classifies as “dual-use critical minerals.” These minerals include cobalt, lithium, manganese, and nickel.

Cobalt: A Review of the Current State of the Global Supply Chain (July 2025)

This report assesses the recent trends in the global cobalt market, production, and trade. A key finding is that cobalt demand significantly increased in recent years, driven primarily by rising EV demand, though demand growth has been moderated by a shift in EV battery chemistries.

Global Lithium Production and Trade Dashboard (December 2024)

This dashboard provides data on global lithium mine production and demand, global exports of lithium concentrates and ores, global trade in lithium carbonate and hydroxide, and the unit value of global lithium compound imports.

Lithium at a Crossroads: Ten Takeaways on the Global Lithium Market (May 2023)

This report examines data on lithium supply and demand, the geography of lithium mine production and compound processing, and trade flows. It also analyzes investment trends and offers recommendations based on its findings.

Western Hemisphere:

FIU 10th Annual Hemispheric Security Conference Critical Minerals Panel (May 2025)

Silverado examined the role of critical minerals in global power competition with a focus on the Western Hemisphere. The panel emphasized how resource control shapes geopolitical influence, assessed the security risks of overreliance on single suppliers, explored diversification strategies, and evaluated government and industry efforts to secure long-term mineral availability.

Deepening Critical Mineral Supply Chains in the Western Hemisphere (December 2022)

Silverado and Principal to Principal hosted a panel to explore opportunities for deepening critical mineral supply chains in the Western Hemisphere. The event featured senior government officials, industry leaders, and policy experts discussing policy and private-sector approaches to securing supply chains for the critical minerals that underpin economic and national security objectives in the region.

Lawfare: China's Growing Influence over Latin America's Mineral Resources (June 2022)

Silverado brings attention to China’s growing influence over Latin America’s critical and natural resources. It argues that, “Allowing a geostrategic competitor like China to wield disproportionate influence over access to critical minerals– or allowing production to become concentrated in a single geographic region– poses a serious risk to the United States and its allies.”

Africa:

U.S. Africa Energy Forum Remarks: "Resources, Security, and the U.S. Role in the Democratic Republic of Congo (August 2025)

Silverado delivered remarks at the U.S. Africa Energy Forum that proposed a new kind of partnership between the U.S. and the Democratic Republic of Congo, including multilateral and regional frameworks, infrastructure, and specific policy tools, all of which are factors in this new U.S.-DRC-Rwanda partnership.

Critical Minerals in AGOA: Niobium, Tantalum, and Vanadium (July 2024)

This report assesses the state of niobium, tantalum, and vanadium production and trade in the subset of Sub-Saharan African countries eligible for African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) benefits in 2024.

Critical Minerals in AGOA: Platinum-Group Metals (July 2024)

This report evaluates the current state of platinum-group metal (PGM) production in Sub-Saharan African countries eligible for AGOA benefits. It focuses on mine production, refinery output, PGM exports, and tariff rates.

Comments to USTR on Promoting Supply Chain Resilience (April 2024)

Silverado submitted comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), recommending targeted actions, including the prioritization of key supply chains such as critical minerals. Among the recommendations was a call for USTR to direct the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) to initiate Section 332 Fact-Finding Investigations in those prioritized supply chains.

Recovery and Circularity:

Circular Economy and Critical Minerals in Electrical and Electronic Products (June 2022)

This analysis assesses the recycling potential of the world's consumer electronics and makes it clear that circular economy models offer significant support to critical material supply. It finds this to be especially true of electrical and electronic products, which can lower demand for newly mined materials and diversify the supply of minerals where a single country dominates mining.

The Hill: Recycling critical minerals is an underappreciated national security tool (May 2022)

This article argues that a circular economy is a national security imperative. It claims that it should be implemented in conjunction with a reverse supply chain strategy for critical materials, as both will be essential for securing a stable supply of critical minerals for the United States.

Contacts:

Policy Team

Mahnaz Khan, Vice President of Policy for Critical Supply Chains (Mahnaz@silverado.org)

David Kelm, Policy Analyst (David@silverado.org)

Research Team

Andrew David, Vice President of Research and Analysis (Andy@silverado.org)

Andrew Knipe, Director of Research and Analysis (Aknipe@silverado.org)

Mitch Semanik, Associate Director of Research and Analysis (Mitch@silverado.org)