Helium
An irreplaceable inert gas recovered from natural gas, used in chip fabs, MRI scanners, fiber-optic drawing and leak detection.
Fabs use helium for wafer cooling, lithography and inert atmospheres; fiber-optic production uses helium during drawing.
Strikes on Qatar's Ras Laffan complex in early 2026 halted a major source of supply and roughly doubled helium spot prices.
Where it's produced
Share of 2025 world production (million cubic meters). Source: USGS MCS 2026.
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.
Helium: key questions
- Where is helium mined or produced?
- According to USGS 2025 data, the largest producers are United States (43%), Qatar (33%) and Russia (9.5%) of world production. China accounts for about 2%.
- Is helium a critical mineral?
- Helium appears on 3 of the 10 official lists we track (European Union, United Kingdom, Canada).
- Is helium in short supply?
- Our supply status: Tight / restricted. Strikes on Qatar's Ras Laffan complex in early 2026 halted a major source of supply and roughly doubled helium spot prices.
- Why does helium matter for AI infrastructure?
- Fabs use helium for wafer cooling, lithography and inert atmospheres; fiber-optic production uses helium during drawing.
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