Uganda has a tiny mining industry....almost non existant....just as Rob has pointed out.
If Boulos visits Uganda, he will be going to Makuutu....I mean, there's not much else there...
He reports back to Washington..
The conversation may go a little like this-
Boulos- 'Mr President, I just visited a rare earth mine in Uganda.'
Trump- 'Yeah, but it's probably years away....we need rare earths asap.
Boulos- No, it has a demo plant with proven MREC output. It's the most shovel ready project in the world. If we hit it hard, it could be anywhere between 12-24 months away.
Trump- Yeah but Uganda? What do we know about Uganda and the government?
Boulos- Well, its controlled by an AUKUS member...the Aussies.
Trump- The Aussies??? What the hell are they doing in Uganda?
Boulos- I don't know how, but they control it.
Trump- Does it have heavies?
Boulos- The basket is predominately heavies, and it's a massive resource that can supply us for years.
Trump- Yeah, but then we have to send to China to refine anyway, and we are back where we started.
Boulos- Well no. These guys have their own proven patented refining process as well. They have a proven demo plant in Belfast but can build one on site at Makuutu. Special Envoy Kennedy has been there and seen it. They can not only refine their own product, they can recycle old magnets from anything.
Trump- Wow....And how do we translate this to magnets?
Boulos- Well, they have that covered too. They already have MOU's with western magnet manufacturers and can supply to Boeing, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin etc....submarines, ships, aircraft, guidance systems and on and on...
Trump- What? They can refine? ......and have partnerships to make magnets? I didn't think anyone outside of China could refine. So you are telling me, we have a shovel ready mine. It has a wide basket including heavies and can supply us for years, Its controlled by the Aussies and these guys can also refine. And they have partners who can make us magnets....
You know what this means???
This means we can cut China out and control the supply chain ourselves.
Boulos- Yep.....
Trump- For that, I will pay just about anything. So, How many billions will this cost us?
Boulos- Well these Aussies reckon they can do it for 200-300 million
Trump- Is that all??!! Gees, Elon can save that from USAID in 3 days....Don't let these guys go, let's do a deal....
Right...Uganda to be tariff free...and Elon, get me that money.....
Obviously this is a construct from my imagination...but in my mind it is a possibility, even if it is a remote one.
One can dream, right?
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