Critical Minerals: After Rare Earths, What's Next on the USA's Wishlist?

Research evidence excerpt

Critical Minerals: After Rare Earths, What's Next on the USA's Wishlist?

May 11, 2026 | 02:03 ET~

BMO Global Commodities Research

Critical Minerals: After Rare Earths, What's Next on BMO Global Commodities Research

the USA's Wishlist? George Heppel Analyst

george.heppel@bmo.com +44 (0)20 7664 8106

Max Yerrill, CFA* Analyst

Bottom Line: max.yerrill@bmo.com (437) 214-3503

Amid a never-ending stream of acts, congressional bills, announcements, executive Helen Amos Analyst

orders and funding decrees, it has been difficult to not be totally overwhelmed by U.S. helen.amos@bmo.com +44 (0)20 7664 8180

critical mineral policy and finance commitments in the past year. In this report we have Abigail Knight Senior Associate

conducted a full review of U.S. critical minerals policy, identifying and breaking down abigail.knight@bmo.com +44 (0)20 7246 5448

every major critical mineral policy and funding commitment into critical minerals made Alona Yunda Senior Associate

to-date. We estimate that the current U.S. administration has committed ~$18.6bn into alona.yunda@bmo.com +44 (0) 789 479 7518

the critical minerals space across ~60 projects, mostly directed at rare earths, tungsten, Legal Entity: BMO Capital Markets Limited

and zinc. However, there remain many weak spots in the USA's critical mineral supply BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc.*

chain, in our view, which are to-date underinvested and, thus, could attract substantial

further financing, such as antimony, nickel, cobalt, tantalum, tungsten, and tin, to name

a few.

Key Points

The great U.S. finance machine has pivoted into critical minerals. Never before in

the USA's history have we seen a mobilisation of capital and policy in support of critical

mineral supply at the scale of what has been achieved in the past two years. This has