Michael Hudson: Rare Earths Rush
Additional to Michael Hudson and Richard Wolff on this interview with Nima: https://sovereignista.com/2025/11/13/richard-d-wolff-michael-hudson-trump-is-blowing-it-up-dollar-is-on-the-edge-of-total-collapse/
My friend Balihar Sanghera has just sent me an interesting background article that provides important insights on President Trump’s announcement of U.S. intention to work with Kazakhstan’ on developing its rare earth and mineral deposits. He and his wife Elmira Satybnaldieva,wrote an important background book, Rentier Capitalism and its Discontents: Power, Morality and Resistance in Central Asia (Palgrave McMillan, 2021), that I recommend to readers.
This article was very useful for my recent Nima discussion. Here is a note from Balihar’s co-author Elmira Satybnaldieva:
We are witnessing a neo-imperial competition for rare earth minerals. The new US ambassador to Kazakhstan, Julie Stufft, stated that Kazakhstan is capable of meeting 50% of the US demand for rare earth resources. She called for rapid extraction of resources and suggested the export of extracted resources via the Trans-Caspian route.
The US is particularly interested in tungsten mining. The US based Cove Kaz Capital is planning developing large deposits of this strategically important metal in Kazakhstan (Verkhne-Kairatinskoye and North Katpar.)
The US views tungsten as a key resource for the defense industry, used in the production of shells, armor, and special equipment. The American side’s goal is to reduce dependence on China for this metal.
The negotiations are being led by US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, who previously participated in a successful deal between the American company Wabtec and Kazakhstan Railways.
A joint venture is proposed between Cove Kaz Capital and Kazakhstan’s Samruk-Kazyna Fund. The American company plans to not only mine but also process tungsten in Kazakhstan and then supply it to the US. Kazakhstan will receive a share of the profits, but control over the project will likely remain with the American side.
The United States is considering financial support for the project through government agencies, but does not plan to directly participate in the company’s capital.
This project is part of a broader U.S. strategy to reduce dependence on China for critical resource supplies. China is also showing interest in developing Kazakhstan’s deposits, offering more favorable terms.
A week ago, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Economy Serik Zhumangarin met with American businessmen in Washington, where he presented Kazakhstan’s investment potential. It appears that the United States has now seized another strategic mineral in Kazakhstan.
So Kazakhstan’s minerals stay in the ground perhaps / maybe a little longer until the collapse of Soybean Farm is complete?
Even if they go out, it is useless to the Yanquis. 99-100% of military-grade rare earths are refined solely by China. They have ’em by the short hairs. The Chinese innovated refinement since 1970s, building exceptional new technologies and processes. It would take more than a decade to catch up. … Read more »
AHH, Michael’s issue here is not so much what you see, but it is how the money works, and in the interview, he talks about Hollywood Money. In a sense he begs the point that someone must explain to the Stans how Hollywood Money works, in order to let them… Read more »
Yeah I know. It is a grift. They want to vacuum extract FDI and liquidity to themselves, like they’ve milked the PetroSheikhs for a century. To take the money and then never deliver (as with arms to Europe now). IOW, to take money from the Stans and never bother to… Read more »
It’s a danger as well as an opportunity. Since China has the industrial capacity, they can win the contract if they can convince the Kazakhs.