Analyzing the USGS 2025 Draft List of Critical Minerals with SciAps PowerHouse X and Z-903

What’s in the USGS 2025 Critical Minerals List?

On August 26, 2025, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released its draft 2025 List of Critical Minerals, opening the door for public comment until September 25, 2025. This list identifies 54 mineral commodities essential to the U.S. economy and national security. Built on extensive modeling of trade disruption scenarios and industrial dependencies, the list highlights vulnerabilities in America’s supply chains and guides strategies for resource development, investment, and resilience.

Why Critical Minerals Matter

Critical minerals power clean energy, defense, and advanced technologies. Supply risks are high due to reliance on foreign producers, making accurate detection and analysis more important than ever.

Key Highlights from the 2025 Draft

The list emphasizes the economic and national security risks posed by disruptions to supplies of rare earth elements (REEs), lithium, and other strategically vital minerals.

PowerHouse X: Field-Ready Precision for Rare Earth Elements

The PowerHouse X portable benchtop XRF analyzer is purpose-built for light and heavy rare-earth elements (REEs), which remain central to clean energy, defense, and advanced technology supply chains. Many of these REEs are flagged by USGS as high-risk due to limited global producers and concentrated supply.

Why REEs are Critical

REEs are indispensable for magnets, batteries, and electronics, yet supply chains remain fragile. Identifying REE concentrations quickly is key to securing domestic supply.

How PowerHouse X Delivers Advanced REE Analysis

With its 80 kV operation and K-shell X-ray analysis, PowerHouse X achieves single-digit ppm detection limits, empowering users to identify REE presence in the field with laboratory-level precision. From exploration geologists mapping deposits to government labs verifying supply chains, PowerHouse X is a powerful ally in addressing the vulnerabilities spotlighted in the USGS draft list.

Z-903 LIBS: Full-Spectrum Coverage for Critical Minerals

The Z-903 LIBS analyzer extends coverage across the entire periodic table (190–950 nm), including low atomic number elements such as lithium, beryllium, boron, and sodium—elements that XRF cannot measure but which are increasingly vital to battery technologies and energy transition strategies.

Detecting Lithium and Other Low-Z Elements

As lithium and other light elements climb in strategic importance, the Z-903 provides fast, in-field identification and verification, reducing turnaround times and accelerating exploration and production workflows.

Advantages of LIBS for On-Site Analysis

Unlike traditional lab testing, Z-903 LIBS offers immediate, accurate results in the field—making it indispensable for operations working in dynamic critical mineral markets.

Connecting Technology to National Priorities

The USGS 2025 draft list is both a warning and an opportunity: supply chains are fragile, but with the right technology, stakeholders can proactively secure resources, validate discoveries, and strengthen resilience.

From Exploration to Supply Chain Resilience

SciAps analyzers—PowerHouse X for REEs and Z-903 for low-Z and broad-spectrum elements—equip users to respond directly to supply chain challenges.

Supporting U.S. Strategy for Critical Minerals

By aligning field-deployable technology with national priorities, SciAps helps ensure that industries, governments, and research institutions can adapt quickly as mineral criticality evolves.

And Don’t Forget reveNIR

And if you need mineral characterization beyond elemental analysis, SciAps has you covered with the reveNIR handheld analyzer. This powerful NIR spectrometer identifies minerals in seconds, complementing the PowerHouse X and Z-903 to give you a complete picture of both composition and mineralogy.

Rapid Mineral Characterization in the Field

Unlike traditional lab-based methods that require sample prep and delays, reveNIR delivers instant mineral ID on-site. Its ability to recognize mineral phases and compositions in seconds provides geologists, researchers, and mining professionals with real-time data for smarter exploration and process decisions. When paired with elemental analysis from PowerHouse X and Z-903, reveNIR completes the toolkit for critical mineral evaluation.

Final Thoughts: Preparing for the Future of Critical Minerals

The draft 2025 USGS Critical Minerals List signals a future where strategic resources are closely monitored, highly valued, and increasingly contested. For industries and governments alike, agility and accuracy in mineral analysis will be essential. SciAps analyzers—PowerHouse X for rare earths, Z-903 LIBS for full-spectrum elements, and reveNIR for mineral identification—offer the flexibility and precision needed to meet these challenges head-on.

As global demand rises, having the right field-ready technology isn’t just a competitive advantage—it’s a necessity for building resilient supply chains and securing the resources that power our world.

Contact us today for a demo of these critical technologies..