Baltimore, MD, Nov. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For decades, it was just waste. Bright red, caustic and piling up beside aluminum plants around the world.
Now Washington wants to mine it.
The U.S. Department of Energy has committed $134 million to projects that pull rare earths out of industrial waste. The biggest, about $67 million, goes to the Colorado School of Mines and ElementUSA. They’re building a facility in Louisiana to extract and refine rare earths from bauxite residue, better known as red mud. The plant is designed to produce between 150 and 1,000 metric tons of rare earths a year. A second project, in Oklahoma, pairs Phoenix Tailings with MIT.
Why does this matter? Because China dominates the world’s rare-earth supply. And every ton America can make at home is a ton it doesn’t have to buy from Beijing.
In a recently released free presentation, former White House and Federal Reserve advisor Jim Rickards argues that America has been overlooking its own riches for far too long. “America is anything BUT broke,” he says.
Turning Waste Into Weapons-Grade Metals
Red mud is what’s left after aluminum ore is refined. For every ton of alumina, refineries leave behind roughly one to one-and-a-half tons of it. Worldwide, billions of tons have piled up.
For years, it was a disposal problem. Now scientists believe it holds metals that modern industry can’t live without. Rare earths go into magnets, electronics and defense systems. Red mud can also contain scandium and gallium, used in aerospace alloys and semiconductors.
It’s a dramatic change in perspective. Yesterday’s leftovers could become tomorrow’s strategic supply.
America Is Anything But Broke
That idea sits at the heart of Rickards’ presentation. Despite years of headlines about debt ceilings and shutdowns, he argues the country is sitting on enormous untapped wealth.
“So, all this time,” Rickards says, “we’ve had this rich ‘endowment’ right under our feet. Yet for years, we refused to touch it.”
He points to research from Capital Research comparing the federal land kept off-limits to the combined area of 25 states, from Maine to Florida.
Red mud takes his argument somewhere unexpected. Some of America’s potential mineral supply isn’t locked away underground at all. It’s already sitting at industrial sites.
Breaking China’s Grip
Rickards connects resource policy to the fate of American industry. Why did so much manufacturing end up in China?
“If you ever wondered why it’s so cheap to make a product way over there… and ship it thousands of miles back here. This is it,” Rickards says. “They don’t have all this red tape.”
Turning industrial waste into domestic supply won’t break China’s dominance overnight. But it’s one more sign that Washington is serious about building its own.
What Else Have We Thrown Away?
Red mud is about the last place most people would look for strategic metals. That’s exactly why this project stands out.
Rickards believes the most important economic stories often start with something people have learned to ignore. His presentation asks a simple question: what else is America sitting on, and who stands to benefit when it’s finally put to use?
About This Presentation
America isn’t short on resources. It’s short on imagination about where to find them. In The American Birthright, his free presentation, Jim Rickards explains why the U.S. may be far richer in strategic minerals than most people believe. He also lays out what could happen as Washington moves to unlock them. Watch here.
About Jim Rickards
Jim Rickards has spent a fifty-year career in the innermost circles of U.S. government and banking, making him one of the most politically connected analysts in America. He has been inside the West Wing, the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve, and has served as an advisor to the White House and the Fed.
Derek Warren Public Relations Manager Paradigm Press Group Email: dwarren@paradigmpressgroup.com
