I. The shuttle pulled out at 5:15 AM, same as every morning. Elara pressed her forehead against the window, felt the glass vibrate with the engine's rumble, cold even through the humidity. The strip mall slid past—the grocery with its flickering sign casting blue-white pulses across the empty parking lot, the clinic with the EXIM … Continue reading The Vault
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Project Vault: When Protection Requires Extraction
Executive Summary Project Vault is a $12 billion strategic reserve of critical minerals announced February 2, 2026. It aims to shield U.S. manufacturers from China's near-monopoly on rare earth processing, but its financing structure—a $10 billion Export-Import Bank loan with an explicit "make a profit" mandate—transforms protection into extraction. Manufacturers experience it as a captive … Continue reading Project Vault: When Protection Requires Extraction
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