As the importance and dependence of specific mineral commodities increase, so does concern about their supply. The United States is currently 100 percent reliant on foreign sources for 20 mineral commodities and imports the majority of its supply of more than 50 mineral commodities. Mineral commodities that have important uses and face potential supply disruption are critical to American economic and national security. However, a mineral commodity's importance and the nature of its supply chain can change with time; a mineral commodity that may not have been considered critical 25 years ago may be critical today, and one considered critical today may not be so in the future. The U.S. Geological Survey has produced this volume to describe a select group of mineral commodities currently critical to our economy and security. For each mineral commodity covered, the authors provide a comprehensive look at (1) the commodity's use; (2) the geology and global distribution of the mineral deposit types that account for the present and possible future supply of the commodity; (3) the current status of production, reserves, and resources in the United States and globally; and (4) environmental considerations related to the commodity's production from different types of mineral deposits. The volume describes U.S. critical mineral resources in a global context, for no country can be self-sufficient for all its mineral commodity needs, and the United States will always rely on global mineral commodity supply chains. This volume provides the scientific understanding of critical mineral resources required for informed decisionmaking by those responsible for ensuring that the United States has a secure and sustainable supply of mineral commodities.

Flotation has become one of the most important techniques available for mineral processing. This work provides a unique and authoritative review of sulphide mineral collector properties, their manufacture and use with specific ores. Special emphasis is placed on the different flotation mechanisms involved in particle capture of sulphide and non-sulphide minerals and the effect of antagonal mechanisms on reagent selection. The author provides details, some previously unpublished, of the chemical properties, manufacture methods and possible surface active impurities of commercial collectors and frothers. In addition the chemical composition of a broad number of North American and European commercial reagent designations are listed. Ore sampling, sample preparation, testing machines and routines are covered as practical guides to mine laboratory staff. Suggestions to testing procedures, equipment selection and graphical data evaluation methods to multivariable problems are provided.

This book, first published in 1966, reports the results of a pilot study devoted to understanding the middle-term resource situation for one metal – manganese. Two factors bring the different parts of the manganese supply-demand picture together, one economic and the other political, both of which are examined in detail in this report. Low-Grade and Nonconventional Sources of Manganese will be of interest to students of environmental studies.