(Tony Sifert, Headline USA) Following former President Donald Trump’s America First energy independence lead, the Department of Defense has announced the construction of a facility in Texas that would process heavy rare earth elements.
The plan is to stockpile lithium and cobalt in order to reduce dependence on China, according to Reuters. The move comes despite the best efforts of President Biden’s corrupt son, Hunter, who was instrumental in arranging for the Chinese takeover of the world’s richest cobalt deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to a Pentagon press release, the DOD awarded a $35 million contract to MP Materials Corp. of Las Vegas, Nevada, to establish “the first processing and separation facility of its kind” in the United States.
The Pentagon has also entered into a $120 million agreement with Lynas Rare Earths Ltd to establish a Heavy Rare Earths separation facility in Texas, according to a press release from the company.
“The development of a U.S. Heavy Rare Earths separation facility is an important part of our accelerated growth plan and we look forward to not only meeting the rare earth needs of the U.S. Government but also reinvigorating the local Rare Earths market,” Lynas Rare Earths CEO and Managing Director Amanda Lacaze said.
The deals have lead to cyber war campaigns against Lynas, conducted by Chinese agents disguising themselves as local residents on Twitter, according to a report in Bloomberg.
“Fake accounts purported to be concerned local residents and environmentalists on Facebook to orchestrate protests at the Texas facility of the Australian mining company Lynas Rare Earths Ltd.,” Bloomberg reported.
“The private sector is now the victim of attacks by Chinese information operations, which are growing increasingly aggressive,” said John Hultquist, vice president for Mandiant Intelligence.
