Let's talk about spice metals. And no, this isn't the start of a new NMA cooking show. But spice metals– like seasoning in the kitchen – are elements where just a little bit, even tiny amounts, can have a transformative impact.

Andy Home, metals columnist for Reuters, recently had a great example with semiconductors.

As he observed, silicon has been the wafer material of choice for semiconductors for decades but is close to its technical limits when it comes to advanced computing. But toss in just a pinch of gallium and germanium, and the chip's capacity rises exponentially.

Or take antimony. Even a tiny amount can dramatically increase the hardness and durability of alloys. There's a reason why it's used in more than 500 munitions.

That transformative impact is true for a wide variety of metals. Everything from scandium and vanadium to tellurium, boron and molybdenum. These metals – often used almost in immeasurable quantities -- have transformed our economy, national security and the very way we live--even if many of us have never heard of them.

Their importance underscores a new reality: all minerals are now critical in one way or another. Or said another way, in the technology age, mining is critical.