The best part about these kinds of “findings” is that in the cold war, the Department of Defense and the various Pentagon think tanks already knew about this risk, and even established a “strategic mineral reserve” that was at one point worth ~$70billion in 1960 ~$700billion today. But of course Capitalists can’t ever plan for the future. So it was sold off for pennies on the dollar to various private industries and politically well-connected firms over the years which I think culminated under Clinton.
Included in those mineral reserves was helium, which just recently was fully privatized.
Now all of a sudden various mining CEO’s are asking for a bailout from the government to recreate the refining ability that the US used to have. I wonder where that refining ability went and more importantly why?
The best part about these kinds of “findings” is that in the cold war, the Department of Defense and the various Pentagon think tanks already knew about this risk, and even established a “strategic mineral reserve” that was at one point worth ~$70billion in 1960 ~$700billion today. But of course Capitalists can’t ever plan for the future. So it was sold off for pennies on the dollar to various private industries and politically well-connected firms over the years which I think culminated under Clinton.
Included in those mineral reserves was helium, which just recently was fully privatized.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Helium_Reserve
Now all of a sudden various mining CEO’s are asking for a bailout from the government to recreate the refining ability that the US used to have. I wonder where that refining ability went and more importantly why?