For decades, Washington politicians from both parties wrung their hands about America's dangerous dependence on foreign minerals — particularly from Communist China. They held hearings. They commissioned studies. They gave speeches. And they did absolutely nothing.
Then Donald Trump came back to the White House.
Just weeks ago, President Trump announced Project Vault — a groundbreaking $10 billion initiative combining Export-Import Bank financing with $2 billion in private sector investment to create the first-ever United States Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve. And now, Next News Network has gone boots on the ground to show you exactly where this America First vision becomes reality.
Ground Zero for American Mineral Independence
The core shack sits about 45 minutes from Houston, British Columbia — a modest facility where drill samples arrive after being pulled from deep underground. This is where the raw copper that powers your smartphone, your electric vehicle, and our F-35 fighter jets gets split, analyzed, and catalogued.
The geology team at Vizsla Copper revealed something extraordinary during our visit: they believe they're on the verge of a major discovery. The first hole they drilled hit 345 meters of copper mineralization starting just 11 meters below the surface — the discovery of what's now called the Thera deposit. They've now drilled 11 holes in the area, and every single one shows exactly what they want to see.
This isn't speculation, folks. This is pyrite. Chalcopyrite. Copper mineralization. The raw materials American industry desperately needs to break free from Chinese supply chain dominance — and it's coming out of the ground in a friendly neighboring nation right now.
Why This Matters: The SR-71 Lesson
Think America's mineral dependence on hostile nations is just theoretical? Think again.
During the Cold War, the CIA had to build elaborate shell companies to secretly purchase titanium from the Soviet Union — just to build the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane. Let that sink in: we were dependent on our enemy to protect ourselves from our enemy.
That nightmare scenario? It's happening again with China and rare earth minerals. Beijing has weaponized their dominance for years, using trade barriers to keep America on a leash. One phone call from Xi Jinping could cripple our defense industrial base.
Not anymore. Not on Trump's watch.
Congress Finally Acts
The Critical Minerals Dominance Act just passed the House 224-195, giving Interior Secretary Doug Burgum authority to geologically map the country and determine which federal land can be leased for mining. Swift action on leasing and permitting will take market share directly from China.
Meanwhile, Vizsla Copper has already assembled over 4 billion pounds of copper in the ground across their projects, along with nearly 2 million ounces of gold and 1.6 billion pounds of zinc. Their Palmer project in Alaska — on sovereign United States territory — has already earned endorsement from Alaska's governor.
The infrastructure at the Canadian site is already in place. A 140-kilovolt power line runs right through the property. One of the world's largest copper mines, owned by Teck, operates just up the road. The path to production is clear.
The Bottom Line
This is what American leadership looks like. This is what happens when you have a president who understands that economic security IS national security. While the Biden regime spent four years kowtowing to climate extremists and killing domestic energy production, Trump is rebuilding America's industrial foundation from the ground up.
The restoration of American mineral independence isn't coming someday. It's happening right now. And the Chinese Communist Party is watching nervously as their leverage over the United States crumbles with every core sample pulled from North American soil.
Part 5 of this investigation drops tomorrow — live from a helicopter touching down at the Thera discovery site. Stay tuned, Patriots. History is being made.