Jim Rickards Says Vast Federal Resource Could Hold the Key to U.S. Resilience in a New Global Era
WASHINGTON, April 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — What if America’s most valuable asset wasn’t listed on any balance sheet… but has been sitting beneath our feet all along?
According to former CIA advisor Jim Rickards, the United States controls a vast natural reserve buried beneath federal lands—rich in materials essential to the modern economy—and estimates of its potential market value have reached as high as $150 trillion.
“We’re told the country is running out of options,” Rickards says. “But there’s a resource—physical, strategic, and proven—that we’ve barely touched.”
A STRATEGIC ASSET, BURIED IN POLICY
Much of this land has remained under federal oversight since the 19th century, largely shielded from commercial use due to environmental restrictions, permitting frameworks, and regulatory inertia.
But with the Supreme Court’s 2024 reversal of the Chevron Doctrine—which reined in the authority of federal agencies to broadly interpret statutes—Rickards believes the legal landscape is shifting.
“We’re not talking about a new law,” Rickards explains. “We’re talking about a system that’s been in place for over a century—and what happens when courts start asking new questions about it.”
THE MATERIALS THAT POWER MODERN CIVILIZATION
The buried reserve includes some of the most in-demand resources on the planet: lithium for electric grids, copper for energy systems, silver for industrial use, and rare earths critical to national defense and AI infrastructure.
“We’re already seeing how foreign control of these materials is shaping geopolitics,” Rickards says. “But the U.S. doesn’t need to be dependent. It has its own supply. It just hasn’t acted on it.”
According to Rickards, that supply—when valued at current and projected market rates—could be worth up to $150 trillion in raw material terms.
A MOMENT TO RETHINK WHAT’S POSSIBLE
Rickards emphasizes this isn’t a call for emergency action, but a strategic reassessment of what the U.S. government already owns—and why it’s been held back.
“We’re not broke,” he says. “We’re underleveraged. The value is there. It just hasn’t been part of the conversation—until now.”
About Jim Rickards
Jim Rickards is a lawyer, economist, and former advisor to the CIA, Pentagon, and U.S. Treasury. With more than 40 years of experience in financial intelligence, crisis planning, and economic policy, Rickards is the author of six bestselling books, including Currency Wars, The Death of Money, and Aftermath. He is widely known for exposing hidden risks and overlooked opportunities within government and global systems.
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