Tag Archives: Rare Earth Minerals

Mar 16 2026

America Taps Venezuela for Rare Earth Minerals


Posted originally on Mar 16, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |  

Rare Earths

The press is reporting that Venezuela is opening its mining sector to American companies, allowing foreign investment to extract gold, diamonds, and rare earth minerals after the National Assembly approved the first step in rewriting the country’s mining laws. The reform extends mining concessions from 20 to 30 years and allows international arbitration in disputes, clearly designed to attract Western capital that had previously been locked out under the old socialist system.

The real story is rare earth minerals and the global race to secure them. Washington has already authorized transactions involving Venezuelan gold through the state mining company Minerven and is working to bring American mining firms into the country. The move comes after the United States began reopening Venezuela’s oil sector to American companies as well, signaling that the real objective is securing access to resources that have become strategically vital.

The deeper issue is that the United States does not control the resources it needs to maintain its technological and military dominance. Rare earth minerals are essential for missiles, fighter jets, radar systems, electronics, and advanced manufacturing. As I have explained before, America’s defense supply chain depends on materials it does not control. That is a serious vulnerability in any geopolitical confrontation.

China dominates the global rare earth supply chain, accounting for the majority of production and refining. In fact, China supplied about 71% of U.S. imports of rare earth compounds and metals in recent years and controls much of the processing capacity for these materials. These minerals are not just another commodity. They are the foundation of modern industrial technology, electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and the entire defense sector.

This is why Washington has been quietly pursuing mineral deals around the world. The United States has already secured preferential access to Ukraine’s mineral resources, which include significant deposits of graphite, titanium, lithium, and rare earth metals. Ukraine holds roughly 5% of the world’s critical raw materials, making it strategically important in the mineral race. The mineral agreement between Washington and Kyiv was never just about economic reconstruction. It was about securing long-term access to materials needed for modern industry and military technology.

Japan has also been drawn into this geopolitical struggle. After China restricted rare earth exports in the past, Tokyo began aggressively diversifying its supply chain and securing new mineral partnerships to reduce dependence on Beijing. The entire world is now scrambling to secure access to the materials that underpin modern technology.

Venezuela now enters that equation. The country is believed to possess significant untapped mineral deposits. If these resources are opened to Western investment, it will provide another potential supply source outside of China’s control. That is why this move is important. It is not about reviving Venezuela’s economy. It is about the strategic mineral competition that is quietly reshaping global politics.

Behind every war and every geopolitical confrontation lies the same fundamental issue – resources. Oil dominated the last century. Rare earths and critical minerals will dominate the next. The United States understands that its technological future depends on securing these materials, and that explains the sudden interest in places like Ukraine and now Venezuela.

The public hears about democracy, sanctions, and diplomacy. But the real game is being played beneath the surface. Control the resources and you control the future of industry, defense, and economic power. Venezuela’s coerced decision to open its mineral wealth is just another move on that global chessboard.

Feb 4 2026

Washington Launches $12B Rare Earth Minerals Reserve


Posted originally on Feb 4, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |  

Rare Earths

The Trump administration is moving to create what is being described as a strategic stockpile for rare earths and other critical minerals, branded “Project Vault,” with reported financing of around $12 billion, involving a major loan structure and private participation from large industrial users. This is a defensive move akin to a petroleum stockpile and designed explicitly to mitigate dependency on Beijing’s control.

Raw materials have become strategic geopolitical weapons and a determinant of sovereign power. Rare earth elements are not rare in the sense of scarcity, but they are rare in terms of reliable supply chains and processing capability. These 17 metals underpin everything from high-performance magnets in EV motors and wind turbines to sophisticated defense systems and satellite electronics. Their demand is projected to rise dramatically as the world electrifies and digitizes.

China controls roughly 70 % of mining and over 90 % of refining and magnet production as a result of decades of industrial strategy and investment, subsidized to suppress competition and capture global markets. China is now asserting strategic control by leveraging a near-monopoly over the midstream and downstream processing that most countries simply do not possess.

Efforts by Japan to extract rare earth-rich seabed sediments, and by Western companies to develop rare-earth-free magnet technologies, are steps in the right direction but cannot meet current demand.

Greenland sits on one of the largest untapped deposits of rare earth minerals, critical minerals, and uranium outside of China’s control. That alone makes it strategically priceless. But more important is who does not control it yet. China tried. Russia is watching. The United States understands that if Greenland falls into the wrong hands, it is not just a territorial loss — it is a strategic chokehold on future technology and defense supply chains.

Ukraine sits on enormous reserves of rare earths, lithium, titanium, graphite, and strategic metals. These are not theoretical deposits. They were mapped decades ago under the Soviet geological surveys. What changed is that these materials suddenly became strategic rather than merely commercial.

Europe, meanwhile, is in an even worse position than they publicly admit, because they built an entire “green” policy regime on top of supply chains they do not control. The European Court of Auditors is now warning about the EU’s dangerous dependence on imports for critical minerals, including major reliance on China for key rare earth inputs. You cannot run an industrial policy on wishful thinking.

Control of critical materials has replaced control of oil as the pivot of strategic industrial strength. Whoever controls the inputs for next-generation technologies and war machines has a serious advantage.

Oct 30 2025

US-Japan Rare Earth Minerals Deal


Posted originally on Oct 30, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |  

Rare Earths

There is perhaps no more critical resource than rare earth minerals. They largely cannot be created or derived in the US and are absolutely essential for not only manufacturing but also maintaining the nation’s military power. Japan recently lifted the trade export ban on military and defense equipment under new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi who declared a “new golden age” alliance with the United States. Japan has now penned a deal with the US to coordinate efforts to coordinate and fund investment and mining efforts for these crucial minerals.

Washington will fund new mining projects throughout Japan and form a “Rapid Response Group” to ensure emergency mineral deliveries when needed. Tokyo is lifting regulations to permit the US to streamline the process from beginning to end.

The two nations will engage in joint stockpiling efforts to fortify the security of the supply chain. Australia and the European Union may be called upon for joint efforts. However, it will be difficult to form trade around rare earths when China processes over 90% of the global supply.

This is one of the reasons why it would be extremely beneficial for the US to explore a rare earth minerals deal with Russia. The West has foolishly sanctioned the very source of what sustains its technological civilization. Russia holds vast reserves of critical rare earth minerals essential for electronics, defense systems, batteries, and renewable energy. Yet, Western policymakers, driven by ideological hatred, have cut off the very lifeline of modern industry.

These sanctions have only forced Moscow to align closer with Beijing. A genuine peace between the United States and Russia will not emerge from diplomats — it will come through trade. The only workable framework is to tie the economies together so deeply that conflict becomes too costly to sustain.

A closer alliance with Japan will only push the US further away from diplomatic ties with Beijing. It is true that Japan has more untapped minerals than Russia; however, the key here is that they are untapped. The US is looking for immediate relief and the majority of the minerals in Japan are lying deep within the seabed.

Roughly 230 metric tons of cobalt, nickel, and other elements are embedded in the seabed floor near Minamitori Island. Japan required US assistance to fund the extraction, which is extremely costly. Russia’s supply is mostly land-based, and the reserves are proven rather than loosely estimated. Russia’s proven reserves far exceed Japan’s, though Japan could become one of the world’s top suppliers if these projects are successful.

No one can compete with China in rare earth minerals at this time. Collaboration is essential.