5 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beryllium critical A very light, very stiff metal that is transparent to X-rays and dangerous to breathe as dust. | Nuclear Materials | 430.0metric tons · Mine production | — | United States — 53% of world production | — | Be |
| Hafnium critical Zirconium's chemical shadow — always found with it, almost impossible to separate from it, and… | Nuclear Materials | not published | — | — | — | Hf |
| Thorium A weakly radioactive metal three to four times more common than uranium, which can be bred into… | Nuclear Materials | not published | — | — | — | Th |
| Uranium A heavy, faintly radioactive metal whose nucleus can be split, releasing about two million… | Nuclear Materials | not published | — | — | — | U |
| Zirconium critical A metal that barely absorbs neutrons, which is why nuclear fuel rods are wrapped in it, and… | Nuclear Materials | 1,200thousand metric tons · Zirconium mineral concentrates, mine production (thousand metric tons, gross weight) | 70,000 | — | — | Zr |
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Beryllium
A very light, very stiff metal that is transparent to X-rays and dangerous to breathe as dust.
Hafnium
Zirconium's chemical shadow — always found with it, almost impossible to separate from it, and the opposite of it in a…
Thorium
A weakly radioactive metal three to four times more common than uranium, which can be bred into nuclear fuel but is not…
Uranium
A heavy, faintly radioactive metal whose nucleus can be split, releasing about two million times more energy per…
Zirconium
A metal that barely absorbs neutrons, which is why nuclear fuel rods are wrapped in it, and whose sand form is a…