Ruthenium
A PGM used in hard-disk drives, chip resistors and — increasingly — as a next-generation chip interconnect metal.
Ruthenium thin films are used in hard-disk media and are a leading candidate to replace copper in the tightest chip interconnects; USGS lists computer chips as a primary use.
Byproduct of platinum mining, concentrated in South Africa.
Who calls it critical
Membership on each government list. “Strategic” marks a higher tier where the list has one; “group” means included as part of a group such as rare earths or PGMs.
Ruthenium: key questions
- Where is ruthenium mined or produced?
- Country-level production data for Ruthenium is limited or withheld in USGS statistics.
- Is ruthenium a critical mineral?
- Ruthenium appears on 7 of the 10 official lists we track (United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Japan, India, Australia, Canada).
- Is ruthenium in short supply?
- Our supply status: Watch. Byproduct of platinum mining, concentrated in South Africa.
- Why does ruthenium matter for AI infrastructure?
- Ruthenium thin films are used in hard-disk media and are a leading candidate to replace copper in the tightest chip interconnects; USGS lists computer chips as a primary use.
Related minerals
ExplorerRhodium
WatchThe rarest and often priciest PGM, used in catalytic converters and glass-fiber bushings.
Platinum
WatchA precious catalyst metal for vehicle exhausts, hydrogen fuel cells and glass-fiber production. South Africa supplies ~71%.
Iridium
WatchThe most corrosion-resistant metal, critical for PEM electrolyzers that make green hydrogen and for crucibles that grow crystals.