About This Course

No country in the world produces all of the mineral resources necessary for modern society. International trade plays a critical role in providing these raw materials, forming a global network of production, export, import, and use. This network must continuously adapt to national and international developments in science, technology, politics, and economics. As a result, information on the global flow of raw materials plays a fundamental role in improving national and international resilience to potential supply disruptions and market changes.

This course focuses on U.S. and European Union (EU) efforts to gather information and develop tools that can be used to ensure a secure national and global supply of mineral resources; identify and quantify vulnerabilities in this supply; and stimulate national and international co-operation, education and outreach, and innovation in the development, recycling, and substitution of key mineral resources.

This course is based on the AGI webinar "Tracking the Global Supply of Critical Materials" that was co-sponsored by the American Geophysical Union, American Institute of Professional Geologists, Australian Institute of Geoscientists, European Federation of Geologists, Geological Society of Africa, Geological Society of London, Geoscience Information Society, Mineralogical Society of America, and Society of Economic Geologists, with media partnership from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Course Objectives

Students are expected to learn the following when they take this course:

• The methods used by governmental and intergovernmental organizations to monitor the global flow of mineral resources and assess vulnerabilities in supply.
• The current state of mineral criticality from U.S. and EU perspectives, including the similarities and differences in supply challenges faced by the U.S. and European Union.
• The roles of recycling, mining technology, trade, and substitution of materials in securing national and international supplies of raw materials.