Pentagon Looking to Buy $1 Billion in Critical Minerals, FT Says

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: msn/Bloomberg

3h


(Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon is looking to buy as much as $1 billion of critical minerals to stockpile, the Financial Times reported, citing public filings published in recent months by the Pentagon’s Defense Logistics Agency.

The increased purchases come as new export controls of rare earths and other key materials for defense and technology manufacturing were unveiled by China’s Ministry of Commerce last week.

Reacting to the announcement, President Donal Trump said on Friday he would hit China with an additional 100% tariff from Nov. 1. He also announced plans for export controls on critical software.

China accounts for almost 70% of the world’s production of rare earths, according to the US Geological Survey. China’s grip on these niche commodities has long been viewed as a potential geopolitical weapon. Planned purchases by the DLA include as much as $500 million of cobalt, up to $245 million of antimony and as much as $100 million of tantalum, the paper said.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/pentagon-looking-to-buy-1-billion-in-critical-minerals-ft-says/ar-AA1Okf2a

[Irish_Dem]

1. Trump is firing all the scientists. The military will have no idea what to do with the stockpile.

Idiots.

[ananda]

2. I guess they'll make toys out of them ...

to play with in that crazy sandbox they live in.

[live love laugh]

5. They will steal them and sell them for profit. Minerals and ocean mining are big business.

And thanks to Republicans we’re out of the ocean mining loop.

[Irish_Dem]

7. The Trump Crime Family would love to get their hands on rare earth minerals.

[tonekat]

8. I would not be surprised if there's a Dark Web presence

Of the crime family's side interests, distanced by enough layers to keep them unidentifiable.

[Buddyzbuddy]

3. Any rational, thinking person would've already

stockpiled needed materials from the country that is our main source of rare earth minerals before starting a trade war via tariffs. But what do I know.

[wolfie001]

4. I've been referring him as the "fat orange imbecile" for about 4 months

100% true I might add.

[Irish_Dem]

6. The US let China corner the market on rare earth minerals.

While the US has been snoozing and fighting an internal civil war,
China has been very smart and very aggressive.

[bluedigger]

9. How would China feel about taking payment in Argentinian Pesos?

[DFW]

10. Well, let's see--congo has a fair amount of cobalt

Although I recall that some was found in Montana, too. China has a lot of antimony, Romania has a fair amount of that as well. I have no idea where tantalum is found. Weird stuff. Melting point not as low as mercury, but pretty close. Five years ago, I was sitting on two kilograms of 98% pure iridium that I had bought as a spontaneous investment for €5500 per kilo. But I couldn’t find anyone anywhere in Europe who could refine it, and ended up having to sell it for half its market price (not that I had any pressing need for 2 kilos of 98% pure iridium, you understand). Some of these rare metals have extremely high melting points, and are useless to industry unless refined to purity. It was like inheriting some money that was in cash inside a titanium vault that no one could open.