Minerals, Critical Minerals, and Strategic Minerals in Alaska: Challenges and Opportunities

Authors

• Bob Loeffler
• Brett Watson
• Rebecca Van Wyck

Files

Description

This report examines the challenges and opportunities involved in increasing Alaska’s role in the U.S. critical minerals industry. It describes how critical minerals are defined, and which of those have been mined today, have been mined in the past or are likely to be mined in the near future. It describes how market conditions and geology affect Alaska’s opportunities to increase critical mineral production. It also describes how Alaska’s benefits from critical mineral production are the same as those from any mineral production: jobs, income, and taxes. Finally, the report makes recommendations for expanding critical mineral production.

Publication Date

12-17-2025

Keywords

critical minerals, strategic minerals, Alaska mineral resources, mineral supply chains, mining economics and policy, rare earth elements (REEs), graphite and antimony production, mineral exploration and development, critical minerals policy

Recommended Citation

Loeffler, Bob; Watson, Brett; and Van Wyck, Rebecca, "Minerals, Critical Minerals, and Strategic Minerals in Alaska: Challenges and Opportunities" (2025). Reports. 1849.
https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/uaa_iser_reports/1849

Handle

http://hdl.handle.net/11122/16307