Is uranium a critical mineral? Not according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), which dropped it from its critical minerals list in 2022 on the grounds it didn’t qualify because it was a “fuel mineral”. US President Donald Trump wants it to think again.
One of Trump’s many “Unleashing American Energy” directives requires the Secretary of the Interior to instruct the director of the USGS to “consider updating the survey’s list of critical minerals, including for the potential of including uranium.”
Inclusion on the list would open up federal funds and fast-track permitting for domestic uranium projects. It seems curious that uranium has slipped through a legal gap in the Energy Act of 2020, which stipulates only a “non-fuel mineral” can be considered a critical mineral.
For the rest of this article: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/nuclear-revival-puts-uranium-back-critical-spotlight-andy-home-2025-01-30/