The criticality of minerals and metals is determined by a wide range of impact factors, whose selection and application vary significantly across methodologies, countries, and time periods. This variability reflects local conditions as well as historical and contemporary perspectives, leading to differences in criticality outcomes. This study presents an analytical synthesis of impact factors based on a detailed literature review of historical, governmental, and independently published (scientific or industrial) criticality assessment frameworks. Analysis of the resulting dataset reveals that variation among criticality assessments is systematically associated with differences in economic structure, geopolitical exposure, and value-chain positioning. Based on these recurring patterns, the study develops a typology of criticality assessment approaches comprising supply-risk-centric, industrial-strategy-oriented, and resource-endowment-focused models. Although prior studies have examined a range of impact factors for specific approaches, no research has yet presented a holistic and categorised global data set. This study addresses this gap by systematically collecting and reviewing data from scientific publications and governmental and industrial reports to identify approximately 730 criticality-related parameters, which were methodically reduced to 49 key impact factors, classified into six categories: Economic, Market, Technical, Sociopolitical, Geopolitical, and Environmental. The categories and included parameters are mapped across four fundamental pillars of the whole mineral life cycle: exploration, mining, processing, and end-product manufacturing. The resulting framework provides a structured integration of impact factors across the mineral value chain, accounting for dynamic market conditions, geopolitical changes, and environmental considerations, as well as future resource management and policy analysis, while helping understand why criticality assessments differ across countries and institutions.
Mammadli et al. (2026) studied this question.