10 materials shown. Production and reserves are USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · 2025 estimates, contained metal or gross weight as the source defines for each commodity · source ↗
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| Material | Shelf | World production 2025 | World reserves | Leading producer | U.S. imported | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antimony critical A brittle, silvery metalloid used mostly to stop things burning, and in the primers and tracer… | Aerospace & Defence Materials | 110,000metric tons · Mine production | 2,000,000 | China — 36% of world production | — | Sb |
| Bismuth critical A heavy metal that is, unusually, not very toxic — which is why it replaces lead in solders… | Aerospace & Defence Materials | 16,000metric tons · Refinery production | — | China — 88% of world production | 92% | Bi |
| Caesium critical The softest metal, liquid on a warm day, and the element that defines the second. | Aerospace & Defence Materials | not published | — | — | 100% | Cs |
| Niobium critical A metal that makes steel much stronger when added in tiny amounts — a few hundred grams per… | Aerospace & Defence Materials | 112,000metric tons · Mine production | 21,000,000 | — | 100% | Nb |
| Rhenium critical One of the rarest metals in the crust, recovered from molybdenum roasting, and the ingredient… | Aerospace & Defence Materials | 81,000kilograms · Mine production | — | Chile — 37% of world production | 75% | Re |
| Rubidium critical Caesium's cheaper neighbour, recovered from the same rare deposits, and the basis of the atomic… | Aerospace & Defence Materials | not published | — | — | 100% | Rb |
| Tantalum critical A dense metal whose oxide layer stores charge extremely reliably, which is why it is in the… | Aerospace & Defence Materials | 2,500metric tons · Mine production | — | Congo (Kinshasa) — 52% of world production | 100% | Ta |
| Titanium critical A metal as strong as steel at about half the weight, which does not corrode in seawater or in… | Aerospace & Defence Materials | 370,000metric tons · Titanium sponge metal production | — | — | — | Ti |
| Titanium Mineral Concentrates critical Black beach sand — ilmenite and rutile — that is the starting point both for titanium metal and… | Aerospace & Defence Materials | 9,400thousand metric tons · Mine production: ilmenite, rounded | 490,000 | — | 88% | |
| Tungsten critical The metal with the highest melting point of them all — you can heat it to 3,400 C before it… | Aerospace & Defence Materials | 85,000metric tons · Mine production | 4,700,000 | China — 79% of world production | 50% | W |
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Antimony
A brittle, silvery metalloid used mostly to stop things burning, and in the primers and tracer rounds of ammunition.
Bismuth
A heavy metal that is, unusually, not very toxic — which is why it replaces lead in solders, plumbing brass and stomach…
Caesium
The softest metal, liquid on a warm day, and the element that defines the second.
Niobium
A metal that makes steel much stronger when added in tiny amounts — a few hundred grams per tonne changes the whole…
Rhenium
One of the rarest metals in the crust, recovered from molybdenum roasting, and the ingredient that lets a jet turbine…
Rubidium
Caesium's cheaper neighbour, recovered from the same rare deposits, and the basis of the atomic clocks small enough to…
Tantalum
A dense metal whose oxide layer stores charge extremely reliably, which is why it is in the capacitors of anything that…
Titanium
A metal as strong as steel at about half the weight, which does not corrode in seawater or in the human body.
Titanium Mineral Concentrates
Black beach sand — ilmenite and rutile — that is the starting point both for titanium metal and for the white pigment…
Tungsten
The metal with the highest melting point of them all — you can heat it to 3,400 C before it turns liquid.