Washington, D.C., Oct. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A once-ignored corner of the American economy is roaring back to life. After years of dependence on Chinese supply chains, the Pentagon has launched a sweeping plan to rebuild domestic production of the metals that power jet engines, electric grids, and A.I. hardware. Public filings show more than $1 billion earmarked for cobalt, antimony, scandium, and other critical resources — the largest mineral stockpiling effort since the Cold War.
Former CIA and Pentagon advisor Jim Rickards believes this marks the dawn of what he calls “America’s $150 trillion mineral endowment.”
“Well guess who profits from locking up our vast mineral resources — for decades? CHINA!” Rickards said. “The U.S. government admits we rely on China for nearly 100% of 20 key minerals.”
He argues the new wave of government funding is doing more than securing defense supply chains — it’s cracking open a fortune buried beneath U.S. soil.
Washington Opens the Floodgates
When Beijing restricted exports of germanium and gallium last year, prices for key metals doubled within months. The shock forced Washington to confront a hard truth: America could not build its next generation of technologies without breaking free of China’s grip.
Trump’s administration responded by fast-tracking resource development across federal lands and approving funds through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which directs billions toward domestic mining and refining.
Rickards points to a parallel legal shift that makes the move possible.
The decision removed decades of bureaucratic red tape that had blocked mining permits and exploration rights. Now, for the first time in generations, private industry can tap deposits long considered untouchable.
From Federal Lands to Fortune
Rickards estimates that those federally controlled resources could be worth more than $150 trillion — a number so large it’s enough to pay off the national debt four times over and make every American family a millionaire on paper.
He likens the opportunity to a modern-day Homestead Act: instead of pioneers claiming farmland, a new generation of entrepreneurs and investors will claim the minerals that underpin the 21st-century economy.
From Nevada’s lithium basins to Alaska’s rare-earth veins, exploration permits are multiplying. A handful of small U.S. firms now control early-stage access to these deposits — positioning themselves to supply both the Pentagon and the private technology sector.
The New Industrial Revolution
Rickards believes this “rare-earth gold rush” could trigger a generation of growth “that dwarfs the New Deal.”
He says the combination of military demand, deregulation, and private innovation is setting the stage for a manufacturing comeback unseen in half a century.
“This is not some kind of government program like those Covid relief checks … it’s a chance for the average American to become richer than they ever imagined.”
For investors, the first beneficiaries are likely to be the overlooked resource developers already tied into federal contracts and defense supply chains — the companies standing at the intersection of policy, technology, and geology.
About Jim Rickards
Jim Rickards is a former advisor to the CIA, Pentagon, and U.S. Treasury. He predicted the 2008 financial crisis, Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, and the 2020 pandemic lockdowns months before they occurred. Today he publishes Strategic Intelligence, a monthly briefing on geopolitics and markets.
CONTACT: Derek Warren Public Relations Manager Paradigm Press Group Email: dwarren@paradigmpressgroup.com
