Kansas Geological Survey led a three year collaborative project supported by the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative to investigate critical mineral potential in Pennsylvanian black shales across the US Midcontinent. Working together with the Illinois State Geological Survey, the Indiana Geological and Water Survey, the Iowa Geological Survey, the Kentucky Geological Survey, the Missouri Geological Survey, and the Ohio Geological Survey, the project collected new geochemical data from drill cores and outcrops to clarify the distribution of key critical elements within these phosphatic and organic rich shales. The work included extensive portable X-ray fluorescence analysis, laboratory geochemistry, organic carbon and sulfur studies, and advanced microscopic and mineralogical investigations, all integrated into a shared multi-state database maintained by Kansas Geological Survey. Results showed significant enrichment of elements such as vanadium, molybdenum, nickel, zinc, uranium, and phosphorus in several black shale units, especially the Stark and Hushpuckney members in Kansas, which demonstrated their importance for future resource evaluation. These elements are essential to Kansas economic growth because they support high technology manufacturing, energy development, and advanced materials research, and they are vital to national security since they are required for aerospace systems, renewable energy technologies, and defense applications. Many of these same minerals are part of everyday life, appearing in cell phones, computers, cars, medical instruments, aircraft, and numerous electronic devices used across Kansas communities. This regional effort, which ran from January 10, 2023 through January 9, 2026, built a unified scientific framework that supports national evaluations of critical mineral resources and helps the public understand how these natural materials contribute to modern life.