S. A. Shelley: Supposing that North America can overcome Canadian obstinacy to expanding energy and mineral production, there is another big problem (Fig. 1). All the energy and minerals must go by sea to supply all “allied” states. As noted in a prior blog (Our World of Navies: The Return of Privateers), the U.S. Navy, and all allied navies combined in their current state are too small to effectively protect those sea routes.

S. A. Shelley: In the last blog we considered the global benefits of a North American Energy Alliance (NAEA). (See Energy, Minerals, Geopolitics and the Sea Problem: Part 1, as well as other OWOE blogs advocating for the NAEA). In this blog, we examine critical minerals that are essential to electric vehicle batteries (lithium, nickel, cobalt), renewable energy tech (rare earths, graphite), and defense and aerospace (platinum metals). Looking at mineral reserves (wealth), the whole of North American holds a significant share of the world’s critical mineral reserves. According to the International Energy Agency (Regional snapshots – Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025) North America’s share of global reserves for key critical minerals is shown in the following charts.