Critical minerals tracker: what moved, what was controlled, what was revised
Of the 15 critical minerals with a benchmark price on this site, 8 rose, 5 fell and 2 were unchanged in the latest month each series reports (August 2026 to September 2026, depending on the source). Copper is at an all-time high in cash terms. The export-control register holds 53 measures on critical minerals, of which 25 are export limits in force as of 9 October 2026 (6 more are suspension notices, measures on scrap or domestic orders, not an export limit on the mineral itself, and are not counted).
This is one page that is rebuilt at every data refresh, not a news feed. It gathers three things already measured elsewhere on the site: price changes (computed from the monthly benchmark series), the dated register of export controls filtered to the 43 critical minerals, and the log of data changes (new years of production, revised figures, new price records). Each refresh records an edition, and the next page shows what differs from it.
On this page: Price moves · Export controls · Data changes · Editions · How it is built, and its limits
Price moves in the latest month
Percentage changes in each mineral's benchmark price, from the monthly series on its page. Only 15 of the 43 critical minerals have a free benchmark series; the rest are tracked by production and trade only. Series from the World Bank Pink Sheet and the IMF run to different months, so the month is shown for each row and changes are never compared across different months.
| Mineral | Latest month | 1 month | 3 months | 12 months | Against record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palladium | August 2026 | +6.4% | -6.4% | +18.8% | 47% of the May 2021 high |
| Zinc | September 2026 | +3.8% | +13.6% | +37.1% | 91% of the December 2006 high |
| Uranium | August 2026 | +2.7% | +3% | +20.6% | 52% of the June 2007 high |
| Manganese | August 2026 | +1.8% | -1% | +37.9% | 39% of the January 2022 high |
| Copper | September 2026 | +1% | +6.8% | +45% | At record |
| Aluminum | September 2026 | +1% | -4.5% | +23.7% | 90% of the May 2026 high |
| Lead | September 2026 | +1% | -3.8% | -4.2% | 50% of the October 2007 high |
| Platinum | September 2026 | +0.2% | +3.4% | +24.3% | 73% of the January 2026 high |
| Phosphate rock | September 2026 | 0.0% | +8.3% | +11.5% | 38% of the October 2008 high |
| Cobalt | August 2026 | 0.0% | 0.0% | +69.8% | 59% of the March 2008 high |
| Silver | September 2026 | -1.2% | -3.1% | +50.9% | 70% of the January 2026 high |
| Nickel | September 2026 | -2.5% | -7.2% | +8.1% | 31% of the May 2007 high |
| Tin | September 2026 | -3% | +1.3% | +55.8% | 97% of the August 2026 high |
| Potash | September 2026 | -5% | -8.7% | +4.3% | 31% of the April 2022 high |
| Lithium | August 2026 | -5.2% | -14.6% | +82.2% | 30% of the April 2022 high |
Source: World Bank Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet), CC BY 4.0, and IMF Primary Commodity Prices, shown as derived statistics only. Changes are computed from monthly averages in the price series on each mineral's page. Cash prices, not adjusted for inflation; see prices in real terms.
Export controls on critical minerals
53 measures in the export-control register name at least one critical mineral: 31 in force, 9 ended, 6 suspended, 5 unconfirmed, 2 scheduled, not yet in effect. The twelve latest announced are below; the register page lists all of them with sources. The register was last checked against its sources on 9 October 2026; a measure announced after that date is not in it until the next check.
| Announced | Country | Measure | Minerals | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 September 2026 | China | MOFCOM says Kuala Lumpur arrangement extended to 10 January 2027 | Rare earths | Unconfirmed |
| 30 July 2026 | United States | US requires black mass and tungsten scrap sales to stay in the United States | Tungsten, Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Manganese, Graphite | In force |
| 10 July 2026 | China | Temporary ban on helium exports | Helium | In force |
| 29 June 2026 | DR Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo) | DR Congo order prohibits copper and cobalt concentrate exports | Copper, Cobalt | In force |
| 22 June 2026 | China | Ten US entities, including MP Materials and USA Rare Earth, added to export control list | Rare earths | In force |
| 14 April 2026 | Kazakhstan | Kazakhstan renews its six-month ban on ferrous and non-ferrous scrap exports | Copper, Aluminum | In force |
| 13 April 2026 | Russia | Russia requires government authorization for helium exports outside the EAEU | Helium | In force |
| 26 March 2026 | Indonesia | Indonesia prohibits exports of raw rare earths and tellurium (Trade Regulation 6/2026) | Rare earths | In force |
| 26 March 2026 | Indonesia | Indonesia bars tin ore and concentrate exports and licenses tin ingot exports | Tin | In force |
| 25 February 2026 | Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe suspends raw mineral and lithium concentrate exports, then reopens under quotas | Lithium | In force |
| 31 December 2025 | Ukraine | Ukraine sets a zero 2026 export quota on ferrous and copper scrap | Copper | In force |
| 30 December 2025 | China | 2026 export license list covers rare earths, silver, tungsten, antimony, molybdenum | Rare earths, Silver, Tungsten, Antimony, Indium, Tin, Bauxite, Phosphate rock, Fluorspar | In force |
Data changes on critical minerals
No new production year, revised world figure, change of top producer, revised reserves or new price record has been logged for a critical mineral. The log compares each refresh with the one before it; the data changes page carries the full log for all commodities. Annual figures change in set months: the US Geological Survey's yearly data release lands in January.
Editions
| Edition | Latest price month | Register checked | Controls on critical minerals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 October 2026 | September 2026 | 9 October 2026 | 53 |
How it is built, and its limits
- Computed, not written. The price changes, counts and lists on this page are produced by a script from the same files as the rest of the site, then published as critical-tracker.json. Nothing is typed in by hand, and nothing here is a forecast.
- Editions. Each scheduled refresh records the status of every control and the latest price month. The next edition lists additions and status changes against that record. The tracker started with the edition dated 28 October 2026; earlier history is in the register, which dates every measure.
- The register is a count of entries. A measure with many minerals appears once. It is checked against its sources by hand, so a measure announced between checks is missing until the next one. A suspension or an unconfirmed report is shown with that status, never as an in-force control.
- Prices. Only minerals with a free benchmark series appear. Series differ in how recent they are, and cash prices rise and fall with inflation and exchange rates. A move in one month is not a trend.
- Association only. A control and a price move that fall in the same month are not shown to be linked here; the pages linked above test that question and say how little a single event proves.