[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 33 (Friday, February 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7065-7068]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03219]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary

[178D0102DM, DS6CS00000, DLSN00000.000000, DX.6CS25]


Draft List of Critical Minerals

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States is heavily reliant on imports of certain 
mineral commodities that are vital to the Nation's security and 
economic prosperity. This dependency of the United States on foreign 
sources creates a strategic vulnerability for both its economy and 
military to adverse foreign government action, natural disaster, and 
other events that can disrupt supply of these key minerals. Pursuant to 
Executive Order 13817 issued on December 20, 2017, ``A Federal Strategy 
To Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals,'' the 
Secretary of the Interior presents a draft list of 35 mineral 
commodities deemed critical under the definition provided in the 
Executive Order. Specifically, an analysis using multiple criteria 
identified 35 minerals or mineral material groups that are currently 
considered critical. These include: Aluminum (bauxite), antimony, 
arsenic, barite, beryllium, bismuth, cesium, chromium, cobalt, 
fluorspar, gallium, germanium, graphite (natural), hafnium, helium, 
indium, lithium, magnesium, manganese, niobium, platinum group metals, 
potash, rare earth elements group, rhenium, rubidium, scandium, 
strontium, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium, 
vanadium, and zirconium. These commodities merit consideration in 
furthering the policy of the Federal Government to reduce the Nation's 
vulnerability for the security and prosperity of the United States. A 
summary report describing the methodologies and data sources used to 
develop the draft critical minerals list may be accessed at https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181021. The Department of the Interior (DOI) seeks 
comments addressing the following topics: The make-up of the draft list 
and the rationale associated with potential additions or subtractions 
to the draft list.

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DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted 
before March 19, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments online at http://www.regulations.gov by entering ``DOI-2018-0001'' in the Search bar and 
clicking ``Search,'' or by mail to Draft Critical Minerals List, MS-
1621, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 
20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Nichols, (202) 208-7250, 
[email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device 
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-
877-8339 to contact Mr. Nichols during normal business hours. The FRS 
is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or 
question with this individual. You will receive a reply during normal 
business hours. Normal business hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive Order 13817 of December 20, 2017 
(82 FR 60835, December 26, 2017), section 2(b), directs the Secretary 
of the Interior, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and in 
consultation with the heads of other relevant executive departments and 
agencies (agencies), to publish a list of critical minerals in the 
Federal Register.
    A ``critical mineral'' as defined by the Executive Order is a 
mineral identified to be (i) a non-fuel mineral or mineral material 
essential to the economic and national security of the United States, 
(ii) the supply chain of which is vulnerable to disruption, and (iii) 
that serves an essential function in the manufacturing of a product, 
the absence of which would have significant consequences for the U.S. 
economy or national security.
    The critical mineral screening methodology developed by the 
National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Critical and 
Strategic Mineral Supply Chains (CSMSC) in 2016 and updated in 2018, 
served as the starting point for the development of the draft list. The 
screening tool was designed to identify and prioritize minerals or 
mineral materials for in-depth study to evaluate risks to security of 
supply. Additional tools and sources of information used to produce the 
draft critical minerals list were as follows: (i) U.S. net import 
reliance statistics as published annually in the U.S. Geological Survey 
(USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries; (ii) USGS Professional Paper 1802 
``Critical Mineral Resources of the United States''; (iii) inputs from 
the Department of Defense; (iv) the National Defense Authorization Act 
for fiscal year 2018; (v) Department of Energy/Energy Information 
Administration uranium statistics in the 2016 Uranium Marketing Annual 
Report; and (vi) the judgment of subject matter experts of the USGS and 
other U.S. Government agencies, including representatives of other DOI 
Bureaus and members of the CSMSC Subcommittee.
    The draft list of critical mineral commodities has been simplified 
through categorization. The rare earth elements include the lanthanides 
and yttrium. The platinum group elements include platinum, palladium, 
rhodium, ruthenium, and iridium.
    Several of the materials on the draft list can only be recovered 
cost effectively as byproducts of other more common mineral commodities 
which may not meet the criteria for being included on the draft list. 
Tellurium, for example, is a byproduct of copper refining. Rhenium is a 
byproduct of molybdenum processing. Despite these codependences, 
neither copper nor molybdenum is among the materials designated as 
critical.
    Mineral criticality is not static, but changes over time. This 
analysis represents a snapshot in time that should be reviewed and 
updated periodically using the most recently available data in order to 
accurately capture rapidly evolving technological developments and the 
consequent material demands.
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    This draft list is based on the definition of a ``critical 
mineral'' provided in Executive Order 13817. The U.S. Government and 
other organizations may also use other definitions and rely on other 
criteria to identify a material or mineral as ``critical'' or otherwise 
important. This draft list is not intended to replace related terms and 
definitions of materials that are deemed strategic, critical or 
otherwise important (e.g., National Defense Stockpile). In addition, 
there are many minerals not listed on the draft critical minerals list, 
but which are still of significant importance to the U.S. economy. 
Industrial minerals, for example, are the materials that form the 
physical basis of our nation's infrastructure. The materials for making 
cement, for example, limestone, clays, shales, and aggregates; 
materials to reinforce concrete structures such as iron and steel for 
rebar and steel mesh/wire grids, materials on which to place 
infrastructure such as base courses composed of crushed stone and 
aggregates. These construction commodities are the largest (by volume) 
sectors of the U.S. minerals industries. Other minerals include inputs 
into the chemical industries or agricultural sector including sulfur, 
salt, phosphate, and gypsum. The manufacture of products such as glass, 
ceramics, refractories, and abrasives require quartz, soda ash, 
feldspar, kaolin, ball clays, mullite and kyanite, industrial diamonds, 
garnets, corundum, and borates. These materials are not considered 
critical in the conventional sense because the U.S. largely meets its 
needs for these through domestic mining and processing and thus a 
supply disruption is considered unlikely.
    Please submit written comments on this draft list by March 19, 2018 
to facilitate consideration. In particular, DOI is interested in 
comments addressing the following topics: The make-up of the draft list 
and the rationale associated with potential additions or subtractions 
to the draft list. Before including your address, phone number, email 
address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you 
should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal 
identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. 
While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.

    Authority: E.O. 13817, 82 FR 60835 (December 26, 2017).

Timothy R. Petty,
Assistant Secretary for Water and Science.
[FR Doc. 2018-03219 Filed 2-15-18; 8:45 am]
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