What is the Critical Mineral Consistency Act?
Critical minerals, such as copper and iridium, are essential components of electricity networks, clean energy initiatives, military equipment, and consumer electronics. However, there’s been a long-standing disparity between government agencies’ critical mineral lists.
Currently, the Department of Energy (DOE) critical materials list includes certain minerals essential for energy, including those on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) critical minerals list. The USGS’s list, containing certain minerals that are essential to the nation’s economic or national security, is not required to include the minerals on the DOE list.
A bill winding its way through the legislative process aims to rectify this disparity.
The Energy Act of 2020 defines a critical mineral as “any mineral, element, substance, or material designated as critical by the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the director of the U.S. Geological Survey.” The Critical Mineral Consistency Act would modify the Energy Act by expanding the definition of critical minerals to include those designated by the DOE.
If passed, the bill would ensure parity between the minerals on the DOE and USGS lists. As a result, the following minerals would be added to the USGS critical mineral list: copper, electrical steel, silicon, and silicon carbide.
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Why is the Critical Mineral Consistency Act important?
Critical minerals are essential for energy, economic security, and national security. Many of these minerals have a high risk of supply chain disruption, and the DOE and USGS are responsible for a variety of efforts to secure their supply.
According to 2025 data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. remains import-reliant for many critical minerals, with China as the leading producing country for 30 of 44 critical minerals.
Legislation such as the Critical Mineral Consistency Act is intended to boost the domestic supply of critical minerals by ensuring the same energy-focused benefits allotted to the USGS list applies to the DOE list. Benefits include government support for exploration, mining, and processing.
Processing support is especially critical, as the U.S. currently lacks domestic processing and manufacturing capabilities for some critical minerals. As a result, domestically produced ores and concentrates are exported for further processing into more value-added products. This lack of domestic processing and manufacturing capabilities makes the U.S. vulnerable to actions from foreign governments that could cause price and demand volatility and potential supply disruptions.
An increase in both mining/manufacturing and processing is necessary to diversify supply chains from the mine through to a finished product.
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Ensuring readiness for the Act
The proposed Critical Mineral Consistency Act reflects a continued focus on strengthening domestic supply chains that began after the U.S. recognized supply chain fragility in the wake of the COVID pandemic. As this act progresses through the legislature, supply chain risk management and procurement teams must stay informed about implications on their supply chain operations such as incentives – and regulatory requirements – that could impact import and export activities.
Sayari helps organizations drive resilience across their end-to-end supply chain by staying ahead of potential disruptions – including ESG and regulatory compliance, reputational, and business continuity risk. Sayari Map empowers organizations to quickly map upstream and downstream supply chains, identify supply chain risk, and build comprehensive risk adjudication and monitoring workflows.
Request a personalized demo of Sayari Map to learn how you can gain greater visibility into your supply chains and maintain compliance with rapidly evolving legislation.
