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Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences

Volume 53, 2025

Critical Minerals

  • Martin Reich1 and Adam C. Simon2
  • 1Department of Geology, Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile; email: [email protected] 2Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  • Vol. 53:141-168 (Volume publication date May 2025)
  • First published as a Review in Advance on December 02, 2024
  • Copyright © 2025 by the author(s).
    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See credit lines of images or other third-party material in this article for license information.

Abstract

Critical minerals are essential for sustaining the supply chain necessary for the transition to a carbon-free energy source for society. Copper, nickel, cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements are particularly in demand for batteries and high-performance magnets used in low-carbon technologies. Copper, predominantly sourced from porphyry deposits, is critical for electricity generation, storage, and distribution. Nickel, which comes from laterite and magmatic sulfide deposits, and cobalt, often a by-product of nickel or copper mining, are core components of batteries that power electric vehicles. Lithium, sourced from pegmatite deposits and continental brines, is another key battery component. Rare earth elements, primarily obtained from carbonatite- and regolith-hosted ion-adsorption deposits, have unique magnetic properties that are key for motor efficiency. Future demand for these elements is expected to increase significantly over the next decades, potentially outpacing expected mine production. Therefore, to ensure a successful energy transition, efforts must prioritize addressing substantial challenges in the supply of critical minerals, particularly the delays in exploring and mining new resources to meet growing demands.

  • ▪  The energy transition relies on green technologies needing a secure, sustainable supply of critical minerals sourced from ore deposits worldwide.
  • ▪  Copper, nickel, cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements are geologically restricted in occurrence, posing challenges for extraction and availability.
  • ▪  Future demand is expected to surge in the next decades, requiring unprecedented production rates to make the green energy transition viable.

Keyword(s): cobalt, copper, energy transition, lithium, nickel, rare earth elements
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Critical Minerals
Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 53, 141 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-040523-023316
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