Strategic Metals are raw materials critical to modern technology and industry, but whose supply is limited and/or subject to disruption. Basically, they are materials you really need, but someone else has. With more than 80% of their production coming from China, it is clear why they are considered strategic assets by the US and other industrialized nations.

Strategic Metals differ from “base metals”, like copper, iron, lead, and zinc, in that the availability of those metals is relatively abundant around the world. They also differ from “precious metals”, such as gold and silver, because those are not considered as vital to technology and industry.

Strategic Metals include technology metals, such as gallium, hafnium and tellurium, and rare earth metals, such as dysprosium, neodymium, and terbium.