The mineral quantities, country locations, and strategic risk assessments in this dashboard were synthesized from the authoritative sources listed below. No single source was copied verbatim — the risk/challenge column represents an analytical synthesis across refining concentration, sanctions exposure, governance instability, export controls, supply concentration, and geopolitical dependency.
Tags indicate what each source contributed: Quantities = reserve/production figures Locations = country/geographic data Risk = supply risk framing Policy = strategic/policy context Trade = trade flow & governance data.
Primary Data Sources — USGS
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Primary source for global reserves, annual mine production, leading producing countries, strategic supply concerns, import reliance, and commodity-by-commodity reserve estimates. The principal quantitative backbone of the dashboard.
QuantitiesLocationsRisk
National Minerals Information Center (NMIC) Commodity Profiles
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Commodity profiles, reserve definitions, critical mineral classifications, and country production rankings. Used to validate and cross-reference figures from the Mineral Commodity Summaries.
QuantitiesLocations
Critical Minerals Overview
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Strategic relevance assessments, defense and economic importance framing, and supply chain concern characterizations for each mineral category.
RiskPolicy
Global Distribution of Selected Mines, Deposits, and Districts of Critical Minerals Dataset
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Mine and deposit country validation, geographic distribution of occurrences, and mineral occurrence mapping used to confirm country assignments on the map.
Locations
Professional Paper 1802 — Critical Mineral Resources of the United States
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Geology context, deposit models, supply-chain discussions, and strategic mineral relationships. Provides depth on why certain deposit types are concentrated in specific geographies.
LocationsRisk
Energy & Technology Supply Chain
Critical Minerals Programme — Global Critical Minerals Outlook
International Energy Agency (IEA)
Processing and refining concentration data, battery mineral demand projections, China supply-chain dominance analysis, and energy transition dependency framing. Primary source for the refining chokepoint analysis in the commentary.
QuantitiesRiskPolicy
Critical Materials Assessment
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Defense and electronics applications, supply vulnerability scoring, and strategic material prioritization — particularly for materials relevant to clean energy and advanced manufacturing.
RiskPolicy
Allied Government & National Agencies
Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre
British Geological Survey (BGS)
Global supply chain concentration metrics, geopolitical supply risk characterizations, and refining bottleneck analysis. Provides an independent non-U.S. government perspective on supply vulnerability.
RiskPolicy
Critical Minerals Centre of Excellence
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
Western-aligned supply chain analysis and mineral strategic importance assessments, with particular relevance to Canada's role as an alternative supplier for cobalt, nickel, niobium, and uranium.
LocationsPolicy
Critical Minerals Hub
Geoscience Australia
Reserve context and production data for lithium, rare earths, cobalt, and nickel — with Australia being a major producer across multiple critical minerals tracked in this dashboard.
QuantitiesLocations
Policy & Legislative Context
IF13145 — 2025 Critical Minerals List Overview
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
U.S. government critical mineral prioritization criteria and the formal 2025 list of 50 critical minerals designated by the Secretary of the Interior. Used to confirm which minerals qualify as officially designated critical.
Policy
Trade Flow & Governance Data
UN Comtrade Database
United Nations Statistics Division
Used indirectly for trade flow awareness, export concentration analysis, and refining chokepoint understanding. Informs the narrative around which nations control downstream processing versus raw extraction.
TradeRisk
Corruption Perceptions Index
Transparency International
Used conceptually for geopolitical and governance risk framing in high-exposure countries such as the DRC, Myanmar, and Russia — where weak rule of law compounds supply chain fragility.
Risk
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED)
ACLED
Used conceptually for conflict-risk understanding around active mining regions — particularly the DRC (cobalt, tantalum), Myanmar (dysprosium, graphite, antimony), and Central African producing nations.
Risk
Risk Score Methodology
The risk levels (Critical / Very High / High / Medium-High) assigned to each mineral are not drawn directly from any single published table. They represent an analytical synthesis across six dimensions: (1) refining and processing concentration, (2) sanctions exposure and adversarial supplier dependence, (3) governance instability in producing nations, (4) active or threatened export controls, (5) geographic supply concentration (HHI), and (6) absence of viable substitutes.
The primary quantitative inputs — reserve tonnages, production shares, and country rankings — were pulled from USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025 and NMIC commodity pages. Processing concentration data was drawn primarily from IEA strategic mineral reports. Risk framing was synthesized analytically rather than copied from a single classification.
This dashboard is intended for situational awareness and analytical framing. Users should consult primary sources directly for procurement, policy, or investment decisions.