Researchers at the US Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners have developed a new methodology to identify which mineral commodities important to US manufacturing are at greatest risk to supply disruption. The risk tool identified 23 mineral commodities posing the greatest risk. The methodology evaluated the global supply of and US demand for 52 mineral commodities for the years 2007 to 2016. Twenty-three mineral commodities—including some rare earth elements, cobalt, niobium and tungsten—pose the greatest supply risk for the US manufacturing sector. These commodities are vital for mobile devices, renewable energy, aerospace and defense applications, among others. Assessment of supply risk (SR) for year 2016. DP (horizontal axis), EV (vertical axis), TE (point size), and SR (point shade) are shown. For some commodities, indicator scores are rounded to avoid disclosing company proprietary data. Nassar et al. Manufacturers of new and emerging technologies depend on mineral commodities that are currently […]