After three years! The U.S. government plans to revise the list of key minerals: nickel and zinc are on the list.

The U.S. Geological Survey (U.S. Geological Survey)) said in a statement on Monday that it would consult the public on a revised draft list of key minerals by December 9.

The latest list provides a detailed list of platinum group metals and rare earth elements that are generally outlined in 2018. In addition, compared with the 2018 list, the latest update removes helium, potash, rhenium and strontium and adds nickel and zinc.

Most of the categories in the above-mentioned key mineral list of the United States Government rely mainly on imports, and the latest addition of nickel and zinc undoubtedly reflects the fact that the United States believes that its reliance on imports of these two types of metals has caused its economic and military strategic vulnerability. it is also vulnerable to the actions of foreign governments, natural disasters and other events that may disrupt the supply of critical minerals.

The significance of key minerals

Under the US Energy Act 2020, previously signed by the US government, "critical minerals" are defined as non-fuel minerals or mineral materials that are critical to the US economy or national security and vulnerable supply chains. "the characteristics of key minerals also include playing an important role in the manufacture of products, which, in the absence of such minerals, would have a significant impact on the economy or national security."

Tanya Trujillo, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science of the U.S. Department of the Interior, said, "the USGS list of key minerals provides industry, policy makers, economists and scientists with important information about the most critical minerals in the U.S. supply chain. These statistics and information contain data on the global supply and demand of minerals and raw materials that are critical to the U.S. economy and national security, and are critical to understanding the vulnerability of the United States to disruptions in the supply of critical minerals. "

On December 20, 2017, former US President Donald Trump signed Presidential Executive order 13817 on the Federal Strategy to ensure the safe and reliable supply of key Minerals, which aims to change the pattern in which the United States relies on foreign supplies for key minerals.

In response to the executive order, in May 2018, the United States Department of the Interior compiled the first list of key minerals in the country's history, which at that time covered 35 categories of mineral products.

The 35 categories of minerals covered in the first list in 2018 are: aluminium (bauxite), antimony, arsenic, barite, beryllium, bismuth, cesium, chromium, cobalt, fluorite, gallium, germanium, graphite (natural), hafnium, helium, indium, lithium, magnesium, manganese, niobium, platinum group metals, rare earth elements, potash, rhenium, rhenium, scandium, strontium, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, and zirconium.

The 50 categories of minerals listed in the latest draft list are: aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barite, beryllium, bismuth, cerium, cesium, chromium, cobalt, dysprosium, erbium, europium, fluorite, gadolinium, gallium, germanium, graphite, hafnium, holmium, indium, iridium, lanthanum, lithium, lutetium, magnesium, manganese, neodymium, nickel, niobium, palladium, platinum, praseodymium, rhodium, rubidium, ruthenium, samarium, scandium, tantalum, tellurium, terbium, thulium, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, yttrium, zinc, zirconium.

Overall, the biggest difference between the two key mineral lists is that this latest list provides a detailed list of platinum group metals and rare earth elements that are generally outlined in 2018. In addition, compared with the 2018 list, the latest update removes helium, potash, rhenium and strontium and adds nickel and zinc.

Under the Energy Act 2020, the United States Department of the Interior reviews and updates the list of key minerals at least every three years, updates the methods used to identify potentially critical minerals, receives inter-agency feedback and public comments through the Federal Register, and finalizes the latest version of the list of key minerals. The USGS and the key Minerals Subcommittee of the National Council for Science and Technology have previously released a report describing the latest methods and results for the assessment of key minerals on the list. This report forms the basis of the updated draft list of key minerals.

Nickel and zinc are impressively listed.

The most eye-catching change in the latest draft list of key minerals released by the US Geological Survey is undoubtedly the inclusion of nickel and zinc.

Nickel is a transition element, showing the properties of a mixture of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, magnetic and good plasticity, high polishing and corrosion resistance. Nickel was originally sold as refined metals (cathodes, powders, briquettes, etc.) or ferronickel.

At present, in the western world, about 65% of nickel is used in the manufacture of austenitic stainless steel. Another 12% is used in the production of superalloys or non-ferrous alloys (such as nickel-copper alloys). These two alloys are widely used because of their corrosion resistance. Aerospace industry is the main consumption field of nickel-base superalloy. The turbine blades, discs and other key components of jet engines are made of superalloys. Nickel-based alloys are also used to make turbines. The remaining 23% of nickel consumption mainly comes from alloy steel, rechargeable batteries, catalysts and other chemicals, seigniorage, casting products and electroplating processes.

Nickel prices soared to a more than 10-year high this year as global nickel supply tensions intensified. According to a report released last month by the World Bureau of Metals Statistics ((WBMS)), the global nickel market has a supply shortage of 83100 tons from January to August in 2021, compared with a surplus of 84200 tons for the whole of 2020. The global nickel production from January to August in 2021 is 1.7992 million tons, the demand is 1.8822 million tons, and there is a shortage of 83100 tons.

Indonesia has the richest reserves and production of laterite nickel in the world, and a series of export bans on nickel ore are tightening global nickel supplies. India also said earlier this year that it planned to ban or tax the export of nickel ore to keep more metals at home to support the development of Indonesia's battery industry for electric cars.

Zinc is a light gray transition metal and the fourth "common" metal-after iron, aluminum and copper. China is the world's largest supplier of zinc.

Zinc has a wide range of uses, from metal products to rubber and even pharmaceutical ingredients. About 3/4 of zinc is consumed as a metal, mainly as a coating to protect steel from corrosion (galvanized metal), as an alloy metal for the manufacture of bronze and brass, and for zinc-based alloys. The remaining 1/4 uses are consumed mainly in the form of zinc compounds in rubber, chemistry, paint and agriculture. In modern industry, zinc is still one of the key metals that play an irreplaceable role in battery manufacturing. Zinc is also an essential element for the normal growth and development of humans, animals and plants: it is the second most common trace metal after iron and naturally exists in the human body.

Zinc prices have nearly doubled in the past year since hitting an epidemic low last year, with LME zinc reaching a more than 10-year high of nearly $4000 in the middle of last month. The most direct trigger for the current surge in zinc prices comes from supply-side production cuts. Last month, Belgium-based Nyrstar, one of the world's largest zinc smelters, announced that European refineries would cut production by up to 50 per cent, directly detonating global zinc prices.