Abstract
Achieving sustainability across the life cycles of critical metals has become a central challenge under accelerating energy transitions, supply chain restructuring, and rising geopolitical uncertainty. This study develops a systems logic inspired by the philosophical structure of Tai Chi to analyze and guide the sustainable development of critical metal resources. This work expands the conceptual model to cover a broad spectrum of strategic metals including lithium, nickel, cobalt, rare earth elements, tungsten, molybdenum, aluminum, and copper. The model integrates engineering principles, resource system behavior, and cross sectoral interactions to illustrate how sustainability emerges from the interplay of technological pathways, societal actors, and multidimensional influencing factors. The proposed framework maps the entire resource chain from mining and beneficiation to manufacturing, use, recycling, and reintegration, highlighting how multiple pathways coexist rather than follow a single linear route. By examining mining and recycling as two complementary pillars, the model underscores the importance of balancing primary resource supply with secondary resource recovery. A structured analysis of the roles of governments, enterprises, researchers, and end users reveals how institutional design, industrial strategies, technological innovation, and consumer participation converge to shape system performance across the life cycle. Eight cross cutting drivers including resource availability, energy demand, environmental pressures, regulatory frameworks, application scenarios, technological maturity, supply and demand dynamics, and economic viability are analyzed as interconnected variables that jointly determine the resilience and sustainability of critical metal systems. Case studies of representative metals demonstrate how different combinations of these factors lead to contrasting challenges, opportunities, and transition pathways. For example, lithium, nickel, and cobalt are increasingly driven by uncertainties in battery demand; rare earth elements exhibit high strategic concentration and environmental sensitivity. By providing a structured and visualizable framework anchored in systems thinking, this study offers a new perspective for analyzing critical metal sustainability. The approach enables clearer identification of leverage points for policy intervention, technological investment, and supply chain optimization. It also provides a unified conceptual tool that can be applied to strategic planning, resource governance, and industrial transformation, supporting the development of resilient and circular critical metal systems in a rapidly changing global environment.