The U.S. Geological Survey released an updated database on September 29 covering known U.S. deposits of 59 critical minerals. It lists 1,271 deposits across 41 states and Puerto Rico. USGS says the inventory will help prioritize field work under its Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI), a nationwide geological mapping effort. The count is not a measure of mine output or economically recoverable reserves.

USGS reports that 412 listed deposits have recognized, published mineral resources but no past production, describing them as nearly one-third of the inventory. This distinction separates geological potential from material currently extracted for sale. A classified resource does not by itself establish commercial feasibility, permitting, infrastructure, processing capacity or an investment decision.

The database compiles information from multiple existing sources. USGS classified deposits by mineral systems and deposit types, as well as the amount of published resources or reserves and any past production. Nine entries are minerals added to the 2025 critical-minerals list: boron, copper, lead, phosphate, potash, rhenium, silicon, silver and uranium. Metallurgical coal was excluded because it is documented elsewhere.

USGS says nine of the ten critical minerals it considers most vulnerable to supply-chain disruption, including four rare-earth elements, are present in the United States. Finding a deposit in the country does not mean the mineral is being produced at a scale sufficient to meet domestic demand. The agency’s source description also makes clear that ore quality, extraction methods, permits, capital, energy and processing plants must be assessed separately before a resource can become commercial output.

Earth MRI uses airborne geophysical and topographic surveys to modernize geological maps. USGS says the initiative has remapped more than one-third of the country and that the database can help direct further mapping. The agency says the effort supports an assessment of domestic mineral-resource potential by 2031. That target does not guarantee deposits will enter production by then.

For companies, investors and public agencies, the database’s value is bringing together resource information ahead of exploration decisions. But 1,271 deposits and 412 resources without past production do not form an automatic investment ranking. The release does not provide one comparative table of economic reserves, annual production capacity, recovery rates or project costs. Supply-chain resilience and import-dependence assessments therefore need commercial and geological evidence beyond this inventory.