11 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenic critical Famous as a poison, but in ultra-pure form it is half of gallium arsenide, the compound behind… | Semiconductor Materials | 61,000metric tons · Production (arsenic trioxide, gross weight) | — | Peru — 49% of world production | 100% | As |
| Gallium critical A silvery metal that melts in your hand, and the basis of the compound semiconductors in fast… | Semiconductor Materials | 900,000kilograms · Primary production | — | China — 100% of world production | 100% | Ga |
| Germanium critical The element the very first transistors were made from, now used mainly for infrared lenses and… | Semiconductor Materials | not published | — | China — NA% of world production | 50% | Ge |
| High-Purity Quartz Quartz sand so free of other elements that it can be melted into the crucible a silicon crystal… | Semiconductor Materials | not published | — | — | — | |
| Indium critical A soft metal whose oxide is both transparent and electrically conductive — the invisible wiring… | Semiconductor Materials | 1,100metric tons · Refinery production | — | China — 69% of world production | 100% | In |
| Krypton A rare noble gas, about one part per million of the air, separated only where enough air is… | Semiconductor Materials | 110.0million liters · Rare gases production, (million liters) | — | — | 93% | Kr |
| Neon A noble gas so unreactive it forms no compounds at all, separated out of ordinary air in tiny… | Semiconductor Materials | 800.0million liters · Rare gases production, (million liters) | — | — | 52% | Ne |
| Silicon critical The second-most-common element in the Earth's crust — ordinary sand — purified until only one… | Semiconductor Materials | 5,000thousand metric tons · Ferrosilicon | — | China — 87% of world production | — | Si |
| Tellurium critical A brittle, silvery element recovered from the slime at the bottom of a copper refinery tank… | Semiconductor Materials | 1,000metric tons · Refinery production | — | China — 80% of world production | 25% | Te |
| Thallium A soft, extremely toxic metal recovered in tiny amounts from smelter dusts. | Semiconductor Materials | not published | — | — | — | Tl |
| Xenon The rarest stable gas in the atmosphere — under one part in ten million — and the heaviest… | Semiconductor Materials | 12.00million liters · Rare gases production, (million liters) | — | — | 98% | Xe |
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Arsenic
Famous as a poison, but in ultra-pure form it is half of gallium arsenide, the compound behind high-frequency radio…
Gallium
A silvery metal that melts in your hand, and the basis of the compound semiconductors in fast chargers, radar and LEDs.
Germanium
The element the very first transistors were made from, now used mainly for infrared lenses and fibre-optic glass.
High-Purity Quartz
Quartz sand so free of other elements that it can be melted into the crucible a silicon crystal is grown inside.
Indium
A soft metal whose oxide is both transparent and electrically conductive — the invisible wiring on top of every…
Krypton
A rare noble gas, about one part per million of the air, separated only where enough air is already being processed.
Neon
A noble gas so unreactive it forms no compounds at all, separated out of ordinary air in tiny quantities.
Silicon
The second-most-common element in the Earth's crust — ordinary sand — purified until only one atom in a billion is…
Tellurium
A brittle, silvery element recovered from the slime at the bottom of a copper refinery tank, and the basis of one of…
Thallium
A soft, extremely toxic metal recovered in tiny amounts from smelter dusts.
Xenon
The rarest stable gas in the atmosphere — under one part in ten million — and the heaviest thing you can breathe.