I can describe America’s impending decline as a world power in one word — Alvin.<\/p>\n
No, not the squeaky chipmunk.<\/p>\n
This is no laughing matter. America’s mounting deficits and lack of political leadership have allowed a once-great nation to fall steadily behind China — the country that holds more than $1 trillion<\/em> of our debt.<\/p>\n And nowhere is this shifting balance of power more apparent than in the global geopolitical showdown over rare earth metals.<\/p>\n You may recall that China controls roughly 97% of all rare earths<\/a> produced in the world. These metals remain critical for the high-powered magnets essential to U.S. military superiority. Think missile guidance systems.<\/p>\n Rare earths also serve as the backbone for a wide range of civilian technology. We’re talking fiber optics, wind turbines and smartphones. The world is on the verge of what I see as a rare-earth buying panic.<\/p>\n No wonder that at American Wealth Underground,<\/em> <\/em>our rare-earth holdings are doing so well. We recently took combined gains of 250% on several positions.<\/p>\n That kind of action is why we recently entered a stake in Europe’s largest rare-earth deposit. We also have a position in the leading publicly traded rare-earth processor. Half its sales come from China.<\/p>\n Meantime, my analysis of the rare earths markets shows that within the next three years China will need all the rare earths it produces.<\/p>\n China has until now used its rare-earth monopoly to good effect. The government has pressured U.S. and other firms to locate factories in China to gain rare-earth access.<\/p>\n More than jobs are at stake as American firms head overseas.<\/p>\n The Chinese have a well-documented history of stealing intellectual property from anybody they can.<\/p>\n Now comes the Alvin. It illustrates how America is losing its technological superiority to China with grave consequences for our future.<\/p>\n Don’t worry if you don’t immediately recall the Alvin.<\/p>\n It’s a craft U.S. scientists used to make a critical undersea discovery in 1979. At that time, the Alvin ruled the deep seas — a submersible that could dive deeper than any other craft.<\/p>\n Our team found vents spewing superheated fluids from the ocean floor off the coast of Mexico. These were no ordinary updrafts. They contained a mixture of important metals: gold, silver, lead, copper and zinc.<\/p>\n Since that time, our nation’s ability to explore the deep oceans for metals has steadily declined. You’ll never guess who is the new deep-sea diving champion…<\/p>\n China, with Japan right on its tail.<\/p>\n Just last week, the Chinese were set to launch a craft known as the Jialong. It can dive to a depth of 16,400 feet — more than three miles.<\/p>\n That puts huge swaths of valuable minerals within the craft’s range.<\/p>\n Here’s where the interplay between China and Japan gets tricky. The Pentagon buys critical components containing rare earths from Japan. In turn that country gets its rare earths directly from China.<\/p>\n Just a few weeks ago, the Japanese made a critical rare-earth find. They discovered a massive deposit at depths of two to 3 3\/4 miles below the ocean’s surface.<\/p>\n This was reported in the British journal Nature Geoscience<\/em>. The publication didn’t delve into global politics.<\/p>\n So allow me.<\/p>\n The Japanese found the deep-sea rare earths<\/a> near Hawaii, which helps explain why China wants to curtail the U.S. Navy’s Pacific operations.<\/p>\n China has strong international backing for the Jialong’s mission. It can explore the space between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland. All thanks to the International Seabed Authority, a unit of our “friends” at the United Nations.<\/p>\n These developments underscore key themes in what we call the Era of Gold 3.0, the term used to describe how planet Earth has passed the natural resources tipping point.<\/p>\n All the easy, affordable natural resources have been discovered. From here on out it’s tough slogging in remote and expensive regions of the world.<\/p>\n Global population growth and surging technology demand will continue to put pressure on natural resources across the board. Rare earths remain at the top of the list.<\/p>\n Ironically, Alaska’s Arctic region holds vast deposits of oil, gas, precious metals and rare earths. Other nations are investing in the Arctic.<\/p>\n But U.S. leaders are sitting on their hands… as usual.<\/p>\n From here it gets even worse. China will in all likelihood win the rare-earth ocean race. The implications are more profound than I have enumerated so far.<\/p>\n Here’s why.<\/p>\n We have abandoned our Moon program and space exploration. But China’s deep-sea program has enormous space implications.<\/p>\n You see, underwater mining will rely heavily on robotics. So will mining in outer space.<\/p>\n Don’t laugh.<\/p>\n Apollo astronauts brought back lunar soil samples that proved the Moon is chock-full of rare earths.<\/p>\n Scientists also believe thousands of asteroids cheaper to land on than the Moon may also contain rare-earth deposits. Here in the U.S. we lack the political will to connect the dots between the ocean floor and outer space.<\/p>\n But you can bet the Chinese are eager to do it.<\/p>\n Robotic craft operating on the ocean floor face formidable challenges. The same type of hurdles they would face on what are called Near Earth Asteroids.<\/p>\n And to think, the U.S. once held a clear lead in the Space Race.<\/p>\n Now, the Apollo moon program has much in common with the Alvin. They are symbols of China’s rising power and the death of American superiority.<\/p>\n Written by Michael Robinson for Taipan Publishing Group. Additional valuable content can be syndicated via our<\/em> <\/em>News RSS feed<\/a>. Republish without charge. Required: Author attribution, links back to original content or www.taipanpublishinggroup.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I can describe America’s impending decline as a world power in one word — Alvin. No, not the squeaky chipmunk. This is no laughing matter. America’s mounting deficits and lack of political leadership have allowed a once-great nation to fall steadily behind China — the country that holds more than $1 trillion of our debt. And nowhere … <\/p>\n